Triggered by watching another silly TV show, Whiskey Foxtrot Tango has a good chance of becoming the buzz work of the week around the K-Landnews team's small office space.
As a meme, Whiskey Foxtrot Tango has the aspect of delayed understanding which makes it quite suitable for comedic effect.
It is also a neat example of how difficult even basic spoken human communication can be. People felt compelled to come up with an extended pronunciation scheme to eliminate the back and forth of "what", "can you repeat this", "no, with an h, not an f", "I said h, h, damn it".
The requisite Wikipedia entry is a detailed account of how the 26 letters of the English alphabet should be pronounced but, Whiskey Foxtrot Tango, nobody ever pronounces Victor as 'vik-tah', except the guys from Monty Python.
This extended spelling, beloved by the pros, a staple of US TV show militia talk, good for comedy, has also crept into everyday life.
At least for those among us who have ever had to activate a Microsoft product key over the phone.
The experience is daunting at best and may induce CTSD (computer traumatic stress disorder) in the less resilient computer user.
Even the pros of the K-Landnews were only saved by the military alphabet from throwing the computer against the wall and going out for a night of binge drinking and violent vomiting with the hill folks.
"Hotel Oscar".
"I see, sir, Hotel Oscar".
It remains a mystery why the writers of call center scripts feel the compulsive need to have the damn "sir" or "ma'm" in the text flow. Well, mybe not a mystery but a source of irritation. It is clear that someone out there believes they should at least be hyper courteous if they can not help you, hence liberal use of sir and ma'm.
Well, Whiskey Foxtrot Tango.
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