mixed numbers:
The hidden meaning
of everyday digits
Citizens' Band Jargon
Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey Shore
Prepared to cross the line
I could see the bridge was lined with bears
But I didn't have a doggone dime
I says "Pigpen, this here's the Rubber Duck"
"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll"
So we crashed the gate doin' ninety-eight
I says "let them truckers roll, ten-four"
"Convoy," Words and Music by C.W. McCall, Bill Fries, and Chip Davis
"Convoy" was a hit song in the 1970s due in part to its use of trucker's CB jargon. People have always sought methods of communication that will plug them in to others with whom they feel they have something in common. Though previously primarily used by truckers, CB radio use grew into somewhat of a fad in the mid-70s. Consider it a pre-internet chat room.
Along with the rise of the CB's popularity, the unique language employed by its users blossomed into the American vocabulary (hence the popularity of "Convoy," a number one single in 1976). It was at this point that phrases like "Breaker, Breaker" and "10-4, good buddy" became a part of many people's very non-CB conversations.
Much of CB (and trucker) slang is based on the Citizens' Band 10-code, a sort of short hand developed to encode common transmissions in order and make communication more efficient (see chart below, gathered from The BigRadios.com website). If I asked you "what-s your ten-twenty?" you might respond "the homestead." If I heard you, I'd say "ten-four that." If signal interference made the transmission unintelligible, I may say "that's a ten-one, friend, can I get a ten-nine?"
| 10-code | Message |
|---|---|
| 10-1 | "Receiving poorly" |
| 10-2 | "Receiving well" |
| 10-3 | "Stop transmitting" |
| 10-4 | "Message received" |
| 10-6 | "Busy, stand by" |
| 10-9 | "Repeat message" |
| 10-10 | "Transmission complete, standing by" |
| 10-11 | "You're talking too rapidly" |
| 10-12 | "Visitors present" |
| 10-17 | "Urgent business" |
| 10-20 | "Location" |
| 10-21 | "Call by telephone" |
| 10-22 | "Report in person" |
| 10-26 | "Disregard last transmission" |
| 10-30 | "This does not conform to FCC rules" |
| 10-35 | "Confidential information" |
| 10-38 | "Ambulance needed" |
| 10-42 | "Traffic accident at..." |
| 10-84 | "My phone number is..." |
| 10-91 | "Talk closer to microphone" |
| 10-99 | "Mission completed, all units secure" |
| 10-200 | "Police needed at..." |
For More Information:
- CB Radio Codes, Local and Worldwide
- 10-Codes at BigRadios.com
- German CB Museum (source of above image)
© Patrick Williams 2003-2004
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