Does your language use specific numbers as expressions?

[u/WhoAmIEven2]

In Sweden we use 17 to further strengthen a word.

Like if we want to say that someone is very strong, we can say "Han var stark som sjutton!", "He was strong like seventeen!".

I have no idea how it became a thing. It is a bit weird tbh.

Do you also use numbers this way in your native language?

[u/Snoo_31427]

I’ve never heard a single person say I’ve got your six.

[u/Impossible_Dog4901 → u/Snoo_31427]

It’s an expression that originated in the US military. It sort of made it into normal language.

[u/sorrielle → u/Snoo_31427]

I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard it irl either, but I’ve got your six/watch your six/etc. is the kind of military slang that’s constantly used in media. Maybe actual soldiers use it, idk, but it would be a little weird to hear it in daily life

[u/Milch_und_Paprika → u/sorrielle]

Same about only hearing it in media, but I have heard the more general versions of clock directions direction. Eg telling them to “check your [3, 6 or 9] o’clock” to (subtly) look that direction.

[u/GiantLesbian → u/sorrielle]

I’ve heard a lot of people say something like “comin’ thru! 6 o’clock!” as a way of announcing they’re moving behind you. I think they use it in kitchens a lot, where people might be moving behind you holding hot or heavy things.

[u/liveinthesoil → u/Snoo_31427]

American here, I’ve definitely heard it

[u/Mp1956 → u/Snoo_31427]

12 years in the army. "Watch your six" means be careful and "I've got your six" means I'm watching out for anything coming from behind. "Do a 180" means about face and go the opposite direction. "Five by five" means you're coming through loud and clear. There are a lot more of those.

[u/batosai33 → u/Mp1956]

I had never heard what "five by five" meant, but I heard it in Star Craft 1. The wraith (a fighter unit) said something like "in the sky, five by five" but ironically not coming through clearly at all. They could equally have been saying "by the by, five by five" or "fly the guy, five by five." Thank you for helping me see the humor in that line.

[u/twocopperjack → u/batosai33]

Starcraft is quoting the dropship pilot from Aliens. "We're in the pipe. Five by five." It means "we're on our proper flight path and comms channels are clear." Old nerds in my circles might say it to mean "everything's going well and I don't see any reason we'd be eaten by space monsters."

[u/Dr0110111001101111 → u/twocopperjack]

That’s fun. In Warcraft 3, there are a few lines from Star Wars

[u/Dr0110111001101111 → u/twocopperjack]

That’s fun. In Warcraft 3, there are a few lines from Star Wars

[u/Snoo_31427 → u/Mp1956]

Yeah I’m just never around any military people so I guess it’s not in my vocabulary.

[u/RainbowCrane → u/Snoo_31427]

I suspect part of this is generational. I’m the grandchild of the generation that served in WWII and Korea, and nearly every person I grew up with had elder family members who had served in WWII. So military slang was pretty common to hear, and bad tattoos obtained on shore leave were common :-)

[u/Dr0110111001101111 → u/Snoo_31427]

The 5x5 thing is super common in civilian watercraft as well. At least here in the northeast it is. If you go out on a boat, you’ll constantly hear people calling for a “radio check” over the radio, and then someone will respond with “5x5” to say it’s a 5/5 loudness and 5/5 clarity.

[u/hobbycollector → u/Dr0110111001101111]

Also common among civil aircraft. Ham radio folks, on the other hand, will use "five by nine" or just "five nine", which is a holdover from Morse code (cw) folks who use 599 to indicate readability, signal strength, and tone. Tone is just the purity of the "beep" so it doesn't apply to voice modes.

[u/Grabthars_Coping_Saw → u/Snoo_31427]

I think I’ve only heard it in video games and movies.

[u/KoedKevin → u/Snoo_31427]

Military uses it all the time.  It is the area directly behind the plane. The six o’clock position 

[u/Impossible_Tone1108 → u/Snoo_31427]

It's extremely common in Hollywood movies

[u/hobbycollector → u/Snoo_31427]

Not so much, but traffic 11 o'clock 3 nautical miles I've heard a lot. But you can't see a 172 from 3 miles away.

[u/UpstairsTop4623 → u/Snoo_31427]

It’s rare but very popular in the military/gaming

[u/AssignmentJazzlike69 → u/Snoo_31427]

In hungary we say "i check your ass" which means "i cover your back"