the phonetic alphabet

[Abitrary]

This should be banged into childrens heads from pre-school. I know it, but get tripped up on the phone when actually using it, saying stuff like 'T for tango, M for.. mango'.

A girl at work today said 'E as in egg, er, L as in.. leg...'.

I'd accurately guess that this is costing the economy about £125,000 a minute due to confusion and wasteful giggling.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Cold callers get treated to the phonetic alphabet, as in Foxtrot Oscar Charlie.

 

[domtyler]

If they swap Sierra for Sugar then I'll use it.

 

[byegad]

It's a NATO standard that is used by the Police as well as the Military, it replaced the old UK one from WWII. I had to learn it when I worked for a Mobile Phone company so you could repeat back spellings to customers when registering new phones. I agree it should be taught in schools but the numpties will always get it wrong.

 

[Ashtrayhead]

O for aubergine
Y for wife

 

[longers]

A - what horses eat.

 

[walker]

One of my colleagues was giving her car reg over the phone during a meeting. She said X for Extra

the best one is X, you know, for Xylaphone

 

[Sabreur]

P for Pneumonia

m for mnemonic

 

[Abitrary]

Q always gets me... quango, queen...?

 

[longers]

Q for queue?

 

[Haitch]

Q always gets me... quango, queen...?

Surely, "Q for cue".

 

[Maz]

A - what horses eat.

Like it!

b - as in where honey comes from
c - as in what ships float on

 

[derall]

Q - Quebec

There was a version went around back in the sixties or seventies - can only remember the start:
A for 'orses
B for Mutton
C for thHighlanders

 

[Abitrary]

Q is apparently Quebec, not quango.

It's bloody T for Tango that messes the whole thing up!!! Tango, mango, quango, banjo...

 

[yello]

Point of order Mr Speaker... that's not the phonetic alphabet you're all talking about. It's called the 'international radiotelephony spelling alphabet' and sometimes referred to as the 'NATO phonetic alphabet' or the 'military alphabet'. It is not, as any phonetician will tell you, in any way shape or form a 'phonetic alphabet'. Next you'll be telling me that IPA is a beer. Sheesh!