Advertising: Description of a patrol car with its lights (including the "Bubble Gum Machine")
operating: "We've got a Smokey advertising at marker one-two-seven."
A
little bit of help: Extra Power, running an amplifier.
Affirmative:
Yes, 10-4.
Alligator: Refers to a retread which has come off a tire and is lying on the roadway. "Watch
out for the alligator in the granny land by the one five six mile marker!"
Alligator
station: All mouth and no ears, a yapper.
Anchored
modulator: Base station operator.
Appliance
operator: An in-experienced CB operator.
Back: Term used to tell another you're ending your transmission and want him to begin
transmitting to you: "Come back."
Back
Door: Behind a vehicle. "You're at my back door" or "I'll cover the back
door." Used on highways to establish relative position. Also the designation of
the station at the rear of a highway caravan of trucks watching for Smokies coming
up behind. See also "Front Door" and "Rocking Chair."
Back
Down: To slow down your vehicle's speed by removing or easing up your foot
on the accelerator (hammer). "Back down, rocking chair, we have a Smokey coming
up behind us."
Back'Em
Up (Off): Slow down by pulling one's foot off the accelerator.
Back
Out: One of a number of terms used to announce that you intend to stop
transmitting and therefore conclude the conversation. "Let me back out of here
for now."
Bad
Scene: A term borrowed from the youth culture and applied to a crowded
CB channel subject to many overlapping transmissions (layers). A real bad scene
occurs during periods of high sunspot activity when skip conditions bring in stations
hundreds of miles away.
Ballet
Dancer: A swaying antenna, usually a bumper-mounted whip or fiberglass
ears.
Band
Bender: Side Band operator
Band
Aid Wrapper: An ambulance. Also see "Wrapper."
Barefoot: Using only legal transmitter power: "I'm barefoot." Barefoot or "clean-cut" (the
FCC is ruthless about the use of linear amplifiers ‘snowshoes’).
Barley
Pop: A beverage made from barley and hops - beer.
Base
(Base Station): A CB transceiver located in an apartment, home, or business
that is a fixed location, as opposed to a mobile unit installed in a vehicle.
Basement:
Channel one.
Bear:
Police, Highway Patrol.
Bear
cave: Police station.
Bear
in the Air: A state patrolman in a helicopter or light plane who spots
and clocks speeders. See "Smokey."
Bear
in the Bushes: Police hiding.
Bear
Bait: Someone driving over the limit with no radio.
Bear
Bite: Speeding ticket
Beast: Unaffectionate term for CB transceiver: "The beast is only putting out three watts." Usually a rig that is not operating properly.
Beaver:
Woman or girl.
Be-Bop:
Tone signals transmitted by a radio control (RC) transmitter or a selective calling
system that turns on a mobile transceiver when the correct code is received. RC
signals are heard only on Channel 23, which is a shared frequency.
Big
Charlie: AKA known as the Big Double-C or Uncle Charlie - the Federal Communications
Commission. Originally a ham term.
Big
Daddy: Not the benevolent person who helps young lovelies to cope with
the world but rather he Federal Communications Commission.
Big
Ears: A good receiver.
Big
Slab: A big slab of concrete is an expressway, Interstate Highway.
Big
Switch: The on-off control. Usually used in telling another that you intend
to leave the air: "Time to pull the big switch, 01' Buddy."
Big
Ten-Four: Hearty agreement with what the other operator has just said: "That's a big ten-four, Big Bopper."
Black
Water: Trucker's term for coffee.
Bleeding: Interference caused by a station operating on a channel adjacent to yours: "Someone's
bleeding on you" or "We got some bleedover." See also "step on" and "walk on."
Blessed
Event: A new arrival in the family - a bouncing new CB rig. The cries will
come from the spouse who learns what delivery cost.
Blew
My Doors Off: To be passed by a vehicle traveling at high speed (usually
at greater than the speed limit).
Bootlegger:
Illegal radio operator who does not have a license to operate on the frequency
he is using. CB bootleggers either do not have a valid station license or use
frequencies other than the authorized CB channels.
Boulevard: An interstate highway, also referred to as the "Big Slab."
Boy
Scouts: A somewhat less common name for state patrolmen, who are generally
known as "Smokies" or "Bears."
Box: A linear amplifier, also known as a "linear snowshoes, shoebox" or "footwarmer,"
that illegally boosts a CB transmitter's power beyond the maximum allowed by the
FCC: "The rig's gonna sound better soon. I'm gonna get a box."
Break:
Often used to initiate communications with another station. Used in a variety
of ways,- e.g., break for information (request to anyone who hears the call to
respond with information), break for anyone on (request, usually for a Smokey
report or road conditions), for anyone on a certain highway, etc.
Breaker: A term, along with "Break," used when a CB operator wants others on a channel
to break off routine chatter: "Breaker. Breaker.,, Also refers to the person who
is calling: "Hold on, Pink Panther, we got a breaker." See also "button-pusher."
Breaking
Up: A received signal is being interfered with for some reason. "You're
breakin' up, good buddy."
Breaking
Wind: The lead vehicle in a group of vehicles in communication by CB. See
also "Front Door" and "Shaking the Trees."
Brush
Your Teeth and Comb Your Hair: Phrase used to tell another he's approaching
a radar-equipped police car ("Picture Taker"). To look your best means you've
got to be legal.
Bubblegummer:
A teenage CB operator.
Bucket
Mouth: A loud cb'er who just won't shut up
Bug
Out: Youth culture term used to politely (?) request someone to leave the
channel: "Bug out, breaker" might be used by someone in a group that is hogging
a channel. See "Cartel" and "Goon Squad" for them.
Button-Pusher: A breaker who is illegally attempting to interrupt transmissions on a channel
by "keying-up" so as to transmit the AM carrier alone. Also, someone who is attempting
to interrupt on-going transmissions by transmitting a "break" call.
Cartel:
This term is the name of a parlor game, but the game among CBers is called channel
hogging, an illegal practice. The group playing the game is known as a cartel.
Cash
Register: A toll booth.
Chicken
Coop: A weigh-in station for trucks.
Chopped
Top: A very short CB antenna.
Chrome
Dome: A mobile antenna mounted on the roof of a four-wheeler (car). Used
to help another CBer identify your car: "I'm in a blue Dodge with a chrome dome."
City
Kitty: A local policeman, also known as a "Local Yokel."
Citizens
Band: A band of assigned frequencies in the 11 meter Bandwith which is
alot of fun to operate on.
Clean
Cut: An unmodified CB transceiver that complies with FCC power output regulations
by not being used in conjunction with a linear power amplifier. An interchangeable
term is "barefoot."
Cleaner
Channel: A less congested CB channel, freer of interference "Let's find
a cleaner channel. Standby while I step down to check out the lower channels,"
Clear: A radiotelephone term that has been used for a long time. To clear the radio channel
in use by ending the transmission: ie: "This is K-B-Y-8-0-1-1, we're clear."
Coffee
Break: CBers in an area who get together informally to socialize, usually
at a drive-in. Also to provide free coffee to motorists at interstate highway
rest areas on long holiday weekends.
Coke
Stop: A euphemism for a stop to visit the restroom.
Comeback: A reply from another operator to your call for anyone who might be listening: "Appreciate the comeback, Zodiac, can you tell us how to get to …."
Come
on: Phrase used to tell another operator to talk. Used interchangeably
with "come back" and "over."
Convoy:
A group of vehicles traveling together, -usually at a higher than legal speed.
Copy: To receive a radio transmission with sufficient clarity to understand the message. " I copy, Rolling Stone." "Anyone with a copy, come in."
Copy
the Mail: To monitor CB transmissions by others. Also known as "Read the
Mail."
County
Mountie: A county sheriff or his patrol car.
Covered
Up: Interference., usually by another operator using the same channel,
causes the received signal to be covered up. Your response is to tell the other
operator to "come again" or "ten-ten." Synonymous terms are "walked on" and "stepped
on."
Cub
Scouts: The local sheriff and his men. Generally they do not grow up to
become Boy Scouts (state patrolmen). Cub Scouts also may be called "local yokels."
Cut
the Coax: A euphemism for concluding a transmission. Cutting the coax lead
from the transceiver would put you off the air if done literally. You're going
off the air, which is also pulling the "big switch" or "the plug."
Daddy-0: The Federal Communications Commission, also known as "Big Daddy."
Dirty
Side: The bottom of a tractor trailer, usually used when one is seen flipped
over.
Dog:
A Greyhound Bus.
Dudley Do-Good:
Cop on a motorcycle
Double-jointed
Corn Flakes Box: A Consolidated Freightways (CF) tractor with a double
trailer. Double trailers once were endearingly called "widow makers."
Double-Keying:
A practice where an operator will depress the transmit key on his microphone
twice in fast succession. May be used at the beginning of a transmission, or at
the end, but is illegal in both cases.
Double
Nickel: Two five's, or 55, the former speed limit on federal interstate
highways.
Double
Van Gogh: Having no "ears." Signal is out or antenna is broken.
Down: Off the air, as in "We're down." Usually used to announce the end of transmission
in the senses of "We're gone" or "We'll be on the side."
Draggin'Wagon:
A vehicle that pulls another - a wrecker.
Dress
for Sale: A lady of the evening or prostitute, also known as a "Pavement
Princess."
Ears: CB antennas, especially the pairs that are mounted on a truck: "He's got ears."
Also known as "flappers."
Eighteen-Wheeler:
A semi-tractor trailer with eighteen wheels.
Eighty-Eight
(88): Originally a ham (amateur) radio abbreviation that stood for love
and kisses. Sometimes used by CB operators in closing a transmission, particularly
as in "Gotta go now, so we'll throw you the three's and eight's." (Three's is
a variant of "seventy-three" for "best regards.") Eight's and three's together
are known as the "good numbers."
Eleven
Meters: The CB band.
Eyeball: To meet personally or to see. Frequently among heterosexual CB contacts: "I'd
like to eyeball you." On the road: "We got an eyeball on a Smokey in the grass
at marker two-two-zero."
Eye
in the Sky: Airborne observation, as by a police helicopter, also known
as a "Bear in the Air."
Feed
the Bears: To receive a ticket or to pay a fine: "I had to feed the bears."
(Had to pay a speeding ticket, usually in "green stamps.")
Fifty
Dollar Lane: The passing lane on an interstate highway.
First
Personal: Your first name.
Flag-waver:
The flagman controlling traffic in a road construction area.
Flappers: Another name for CB antennas, which also are called "ears." Antennas stick out
and flap in the wind.
Flat
Side: The horizontal polarization (Going to sleep).
Flip
Side: A return trip, also known as the "flip flop," used by truckers and
commuters alike.
Fog
Lifter: Someone who brings something to a channel - an interesting CBer.
See also "Sunbeam."
Foot
Warmer: A linear amplifier.
Four-Wheeler:
A passenger car.
Friendly
Candy Company: The first letters form the acronym FCC Federal Communications
Commission - which CBers do not find particularly friendly, generous, or good
company.
Front
Door: In front of a vehicle. Also, the lead truck in a highway caravan
that is the first to spot a Smokey and can give this advance notice to other vehicles.
See also "back door" and "rocking chair."
Fugitive:
A CBer who's not operating on his favorite channel for whatever the reason.
Get
'em off: Exit ramp.
Get
'em on: Entrance ramp.
Get
Out: To get the radio signal out so it can be received by another operator.
CBers wondering whether they're getting out ask for a "radio check."
Glory
Card: A Class D CB station license. It should be displayed at the base
station and the three letters and four numbers of the call sign should be properly
used in transmissions. ( A license is no longer needed for
CB operation. )
Go-Go
Girls: Truckers' term for honest-to-goodness farm animals - pigs. Why pigs
are associated with go-go girls is unknown.
Good
Buddy: Kinda like "Ole' Buddy," a old term that was used among truckers and others as
a salutation when the other operator's handle is unknown: "Hey, good buddy, we're
here over your shoulder." Now refers to a derogatory term for a 'gay' person.
Goodies:
Accessories or extras that sweeten up CB operations.
Good
Numbers: Eighty-eight (love and kisses) and seventy-three (best regards): "Time to go now, so we'll throw you the good numbers."
Goon
Squad: Channel hoggers, also known as "savages" or collectively as a "cartel."
Gotta
Copy?: Do you hear me?
Gone: Off the air, often used in concluding a transmission as in "We're gone" or "We
gone!" Synonymous with "down" or "on the side."
Granny
lane: Slowest moving lane on a highway.
Grass:
The median strip of an interstate highway, as in "We've got a Smokey in
the grass at marker two-one-eight."
Green
Stamps: Money to pay a speeding fine. Smokey: "I'm gonna collect some green
stamps." (Catch a speeder and write a ticket requiring payment of a fine.)
Hag
Feast: A group of female CBers chewing the rag on a public communications
medium to which anyone can listen is known as a hag feast.
Hammer:
The accelerator pedal, usually of a truck but applicable to four wheelers
and other vehicles as welt. Truckers "put down the hammer" or "hammer down" (accelerate)
when Smokies aren't in sight
Handle: An adopted nickname used for identification by CBers; for example, Gremlin, Geneses
Bear, "Thanks for the comeback, K-E-D0-5-2-1, what's your handle?"
Happy
Number: A good or excellent reading on the relative signal strength meter
("S" meter).
High
Gear: Euphemism for the use of a linear amplifier, also called a "box"
or "snowshoes," that illegally increases the output power. High gear is equated
with high power.
Hammer
lane: Fastest lane on a highway.
Holler: A call, as in "to give a holler" to a fellow CBer: "Hey, good buddy, you give
us a holier when you get to your home twenty."
Home
Twenty: Home location The twenty is an abbreviated ten-code for location "I've been sitting here copying the mail at the home twenty."
How
About?: "How about that Golden Eagle?" Used to establish contact with another
CBer, usually when calling for a specific person. The more general call is "break"
or "breaker."
Twangy Twangy: 102" steel whip
