# Argh!  If I don't understand you the first three times, try something else!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-if-i-dont-understand-you-the-first-three-times-try-something-else/533803>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 25, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-if-i-dont-understand-you-the-first-three-times-try-something-else/533803 "2010-03-25T21:47:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-if-i-dont-understand-you-the-first-three-times-try-something-else/533803/21 "2010-03-26T16:24:08Z")

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> [@Chessic\_Sense](#):
>
> This is one perk of living in DC, where everyone works for the government. Everyone and their mother knows the [phonetic alphabet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet).
> 
> “What’s your email address, sir?”  
> “It’s sierra-Mike-November-foxtrot-dot-gulf-oscar-victor.”  
> “I copy…sierra-Mike-November-foxtrot-dot-gulf-oscar-victor?”  
> “Yes”  
> “Thank you for calling Verizon. Are you happy with the service I provided today?”
> 
> None of this drawn out, repetitive “as in” stuff. Learn it, love it.

Yep. Work in the military - same thing 🙂

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**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-if-i-dont-understand-you-the-first-three-times-try-something-else/533803/22 "2010-03-26T16:49:47Z")

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> [@cmosdes](#):
>
> Anyone remember the days of DOS? I was working support and I’d need the user to read back to me the contents of the autoexec.bat or some other file. The command to look at a file was “type \<filename\>”. You can see where this is going..
> 
> I finally learned to ask the user to “please type the following: Tee Why Pee Eeee space \<filename\>” and then have them read back what displayed on the screen.

Back when credit card companies were just starting to use computerized authorization, our store got one of those newfangled machines. Fortunately, I was the one who opened the store that day. The tech who was assigned to help me set it up was amazed that I knew what a dip switch was, and that I quickly grasped the concept of flicking one up and down in order to set the message that the machine was supposed to display.

I’ve done my share of saying “What the hell is a desktop?” and “What the hell is the dashboard (Xbox 360)?” and similar things, though.

And I usually have to say “I’m sorry, but I’m about half deaf, please speak loudly and clearly” during most phone conversations.

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