6 October 2020
WILLOW: Don't worry—we're sure to spot her first. Faith's like some big cleavage-y slutbomb walking around all, [imitating Faith] "Check me out, I'm wicked cool, I'm five-by-five."
TARA: "Five-by-five?" Five-by-five what?
WILLOW: That's the thing—no one knows.—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “This Year’s Girl”
Five by five is a slang adjectival phrase meaning good, fine, all is well. But like Willow in the above quotation, many who use it have no idea where it comes from. But the phrase arises in World War II military jargon. It’s a measure of a radio signal’s strength and clarity on a scale of one to five. Five by five is the best, loud and clear. One by one would be very weak and garbled.
The earliest use I have found in print is from January 1946, but it refers to events during the war. From the U.S. Marine Corps magazine Leatherneck:
"Hello Empire, this is Platform Three. Will be back on station shortly. On our way we spotted about one hundred horses in a small area at Target Square 7276. That is all. Over."
After a brief pause, Jerry's earphones crackled:
"Platform Three, this is Empire. Roger on your last transmission. You will return immediately to Target Square 7276. Adjust Mansfield for battalion time on target. Over."
Jerry sat stunned. He was horrified. They couldn't fire on a bunch of innocent horses! They were staked down, too. It was murder!
The voice coming over the phones again was impatient.
"Empire to Platform Three! Empire to Platform Three! Did you hear my last transmission? Did you hear my last transmission? I say again—."
Jerry came back to life.
"Platform Three to Empire. I hear you loud and clear. I hear you five-by-five. Do you mean to fire on those poor horses?"
Earlier examples are likely to be found in military manuals.
The earliest slang use meaning good or fine that I’ve found is from the flight of the Gemini 4 spacecraft in June 1965. It nicely bridges the transition from radio jargon to general slang. This exchange took place between what I believe to be the recovery ship USS Wasp and astronaut James McDivitt during the craft’s descent (Houston ground control reports the descending craft is communicating through the high-frequency radio, which it cannot receive):
At 10:44 a.m., CST, over Hawaii, descent begins with firing of the maneuvering rockets.
Hawaii control: “Start burn.”McDivitt: “Affirmative. Am firing.”
On the way down. McDivitt: “We’re five by five up here.”
The NASA public affairs transcript for this moment reads:
This is Gemini Control. Gus Grissom has just raised Jim McDivitt. He came back with “we’re 5 by 5 up here” or something like that, it was a very faint transmission.
Given the large numbers of men who served during the war and the popularity of the space program, it’s no surprise the phrase worked its way into the general lexicon. But by the end of the twentieth century, memory of where five by five came from had faded, leaving people, like the fictional Willow and Tara, wondering where it came from.
Sources:
Burns, Milton. “Horse of another Color.” Leatherneck, January 1946, 31. ProQuest.
NASA. “Gemini IV PAO Commentary Transcript.” Johnson Space Center History Portal, Tape 183, Page 1, 434.
Petrie, Douglas. “This Year’s Girl.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Michael Gershman, dir. 22 February 2000.
Times Wire Services. “Wisecracking on Gemini 4 Continues Right Up to End.” Shreveport Times (Louisiana), 8 June 1965, 7-A. ProQuest.