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CB slang is horrible

badfish said:
CB slang is horrible
Ironically, the use of a username on a forum, like HomerBB, or badfish, etc, is not unlike CB jargon. It is an accepted way of operating unique to a particular venue. I rarely use it, but I don't mind its use.

In years past I worked the oilfields of Louisiana and Mississippi for 12+ years. There is a jargon unique to the oil patch, too. Many expressions would not go well in other places, because they don't translate well outside the venue for which they developed.
Do many here know about monkey boards, mouse holes, and rat holes? How about the cow's cock, or vee door? Many here would take unkindly to being referred to as a worm, and I think of three oil patch usages for that term that derive from one meaning of the word that has nothing to do with legless creatures. Let's not fail to mention how fast a fight might start in other places should men call out to each other words like darlin', sweetheart, sugar, or babe... as in "Grab that line, darlin', and tie on to that mud tank!" "You got it sweetheart!" All this among some of the toughest, strongest, proudest examples of hard working men I've ever known where the right to be there is simplified to a philosophy of "Can't get it, can't stay".

It's about fraternity, not words. That's what defines usage, and reflects a camaraderie uniquely suited to those who are a part of it.

I care very little for the superbowl, but I do respect the character that defines it.

Personally, I hope CB jargon survives as long as CB does.

QRT, QSX babe! ;)

Homer said that, and he don't lie.
 
Ironically, the use of a username on a forum, like HomerBB, or badfish, etc, is not unlike CB jargon. It is an accepted way of operating unique to a particular venue. I rarely use it, but I don't mind its use.

In years past I worked the oilfields of Louisiana and Mississippi for 12+ years. There is a jargon unique to the oil patch, too. Many expressions would not go well in other places, because they don't translate well outside the venue for which they developed.
Do many here know about monkey boards, mouse holes, and rat holes? How about the cow's cock, or vee door? Many here would take unkindly to being referred to as a worm, and I think of three oil patch usages for that term that derive from one meaning of the word that has nothing to do with legless creatures. Let's not fail to mention how fast a fight might start in other places should men call out to each other words like darlin', sweetheart, sugar, or babe... as in "Grab that line, darlin', and tie on to that mud tank!" "You got it sweetheart!" All this among some of the toughest, strongest, proudest examples of hard working men I've ever known where the right to be there is simplified to a philosophy of "Can't get it, can't stay".

It's about fraternity, not words. That's what defines usage, and reflects a camaraderie uniquely suited to those who are a part of it.

I care very little for the superbowl, but I do respect the character that defines it.

Personally, I hope CB jargon survives as long as CB does.

QRT, QSX babe! ;)

Homer said that, and he don't lie.

very well put, Homerbb
in a understanding well executed explanation !
 
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@ HomerBB

Kelly pole, Kelly down, bell nipple, referring to a piece of equipment as 'man-eaters', and the hands west of the Sabine have a different slang for the same thing. I spent 10 years on the shelf and decided to go deepwater and there's another variation to the original slang here, too.

I got out of CBs in the mid '90s and came back last year. Seems like much hasn't changed. Still got some locals blowing up stuff, some others being a nuisance, and others shooting the bull until late that're half drunk and/or chain smoking every cup of coffee. Still got some folks screaming their propaganda from coast to coast like a televangelist, of whatever mood they're in at the time.
 
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As I might have guessed, Brake Weight (referring to hanging some kind of weight, maybe a cable cutter, or a "Stillson" - pipe wrench - on the draw works brake handle to devise an automatic drilling system particularly on rigs not equipped with one).

I roughnecked wildcat drilling rigs, workover rigs, and did some roustabout work, too.
By far the drilling was the one I preferred. Never worked off shore.

It's good to see you back into radio "makin' hole".
 
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Never really got into the whole CB jargon thing. It's fun to a point but not really my thing.

My understanding is it came from the mid 70's during the nat'l 55 speed limit, it was supposed to be so the cops (who had CB's in their cars at the time) couldn't understand it. Sort of like a foreign language that only truckers could understand.

These days you could probably put on "Convoy" by CW McCall and those not in the know probably wouldn't have a clue what a microbus (VW van) was, or what a refer truck (refrigerator truck) was or a suicide jockey (truck carrying explosives) was....BTW all these words are used in the lyrics of Convoy.

But I agree it's much easier to say what you really mean...like "wheres the scale house and are there any speed traps?" as opposed to "where's the chicken coop and are there any Kojacks with kodaks?"
 
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Well said everybody. I enjoy using cb slang when I'm on the radio. Iv been messin with cbs on my own sice I was 12, so about 6 years now. And have acctually learned quite a lot. I can do a lot more than most kids my age can with a cb. Hell most the kids my age at my school don't eeven kno what a dang cb ins. Now that's pretty damn sad.

But anyways, me personaly, I wish cb was like it used to be back in the 70's and 80's. When people. actually had respect for another and used all the old school (if you will) cb jargon. But that's just me. I'm a new aged kid but would love to live back in the so called "good ole days" of our proud truckers nation. I come form a family of a long line of truckers. And have the upmost respect for em as well. And I gotta feelin, that if it wasn't for cbs and the ways they where used, that truckin wouldn't be nothing like it was and is today.
 
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I agree that much of it is silly but put it in perspective, any type of sport or hobby has it's own language and even how it is spoken.

You wouldn't say QSL in your McDonalds order. When I used to be involved with football I noticed that the QB's all made their calls at the line of scrimmage in a similar manner (a guy from NY might sound like he's from Miss).

In surfing you'll get guys out in the lineup speaking differently than they would on shore. :)

I even had a friend once in college who later on in life realized he was gay - I ran into him years later and he had developed a lisp which he didn't have in college and he talked differently. I thought that didn't make much sense.

"And I just got down"...that one always makes me laugh.

QSL,is CW so nobody should use it in any voice communications kind of like the clowns who love saying they are QRT & QSX.They have no idea what that stands for but they would feel like a real idiot if they took the time to look it up.Listening to Channel 28 now & plenty of Bump Bumps & Just Got Down going on.I ask a few what they just got down from & I think they got offended. LOL John Doe is one that says Bump Bump most every time he keys up.You will also NEVER hear me say that I'm waving at anyone I can't actually see.I just say HELLO because that makes sense but waving does not.

SIX-SHOOTER
 
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When you guys talk on the radio do you use "CB slang"? You know...BUMP BUMP, I gust got down, no doubt about it, etc. etc.? What if you walked into McDonalds and placed your order like this...

"Hey Timmy, Hey Timmy... I need a Big Mac BUMP BUMP! And a large fries....NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! And why don't you throw in a large chocolate shake....AND I JUST GOT DOWN"!!!

I wonder if guys that talk like this on the radio also talk like this while cashing their paycheck, ordering food, talking to their lawyer, or talking to a police officer that just pulled them over.

I'm sure glad I don't have any of these phrases in my vocabulary when I talk. My point? If you don't talk like that in person, don't do it over the air. Maybe CB wouldn't have such a hillbilly reputation.

Just my $0.02. Please carry on.
Not only do I not talk cb lingo, but I dislike it.
It's laughable!!!
In nj there's a bunch of people who do it so often there good at it. I seriously think these guys practice speaking that way. Is there a school of CB lingo? Something like a school for auctioneers? I must admit that those who speak that way are very good at that, but it still doesn't make it any less annoying and or amusing.
They speak normally when there local rag chewing.
But the second skip rolls in it almost seems as if they've become possessed.
When I first returned to the air after a 25 plus year hiatus I thought that's the way you have to speak in order to shoot skip. I tried speaking the lingo while shooting skip but found myself stuttering. I've since learned that it's not necessary to speak this lingo in order to make DX contacts. It's so danm annoying!!! Some of the phrases are actually funny enough for me to sit there and purposely listen in on a qso thats going on so I could get a few laughs.
In my local area it seems a prerequisite on channel 20. I've also noticed that it's for the most part an AM thing. Although I have heard that lingo being spoken on SSB it's rare in comparison to AM. Bump bimp. Come on down. You heard it cause I said it! 73
 
QSL is CW, so nobody should use it in any voice communications kind of like the clowns who love saying they are QRT & QSX. They have no idea what that stands for, but they would feel like a real idiot if they took the time to look it up.
This is, unfortunately, a common problem, even in amateur radio. Personally, I would never use abbreviations and number codes in voice communications, except for CW! It should also be noted here that in professional radio communication nobody uses Q-codes anymore. This also applies to forums like this, why should I greet here with a number code? This is complete nonsense, since there is no reason to be brief in this way. Some people may think that it must be so for traditional reasons, but in truth it's superfluous and completely irrational.

There are therefore only two cases on the Internet in which such abbreviations among radio operators make sense, namely IRC and SMS. Here and only here one should keep his texts short, but nowhere else.
 
I see no real purpose for the slang but it doesn't bother me either, different strokes and all.

What does make me laugh though are the ones who criticize people who use 10 codes and then go on to use Q codes in voice communications themselves. I see no real purpose for either one in voice communications but as with the slang it doesn't bother me, I just don't see how one can be considered better or worse than the other.
 
Bad part people are becoming word lazy.go to hospital to E.R. Take your MEDS eat your veggies.before long we will have a new language speak in alphabet.if i talk skip i dont use that slang.the group i hang with on ssb ,none of us use slang.there is 15 of us in our group in a 60 mile radius
 
When I first heard it on channel 6, I couldn't understand what they were talking about and which way the conversation was even going. It seems its just a way to exchange calls and then key down on people who try to break in. All the chest beating and posturing has no appeal to me. I do find it interesting when someone comes up with something new to say and sometimes I get a good laugh. I mostly stick with channels 20 and up and talk normally for the most part. I use a little bit of jargon to make the contact and then talk normally once we get talking. It seems a little bit is needed to get someone to come back to you because you don't necessarily know where the skip is rolling to. I usually try to ask for a weather report and if it is an area that got hit with bad weather, I will ask what the local conditions are. I don't mind the jargon but I have yet to "Get Down".
 

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