What does "Big Ten" mean?
Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2024 6:53 pm
I always loved the military/secret agent lingo on Battle Of The Planets but one that escapes me is "Big Ten" I dont grasp the meaning and I wish I knew what was all that about?
Back in the 1970s America had a short-lived, unexplainable fascination with CB (Citizen's Band) radios. They were mainly used by interstate truckers to warn about traffic issues, announce police in the area, suggest good places to eat, sleep, keep each other awake on long stretches of road, etc. But then automobile drivers started using them and the popularity exploded for a while. Check out any number of films, TV shows or songs from the mid-to-late 1970s for examples. An easy film to point out is Smokey and the Bandit.Cure DragonEagle 255 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2024 6:53 pm I always loved the military/secret agent lingo on Battle Of The Planets but one that escapes me is "Big Ten" I dont grasp the meaning and I wish I knew what was all that about?
7-Zark-7 had a CB radio reference scene episode #67, "Raid of the Space Octopus", where he let loose with:
"10-4, Big Twinkle, I copy.
Pick up some motion lotion and do it to it for home 20.
Cut some Z's on the backstroke.
We gone!"
"I hear you, Big Twinkle, I understand. [Big Twinkle being the "handle" (name) of whomever he was talking with]
Get some gas and head for home.
Get some sleep when you return.
Goodbye!"
CB users had a whole language to get points across quickly. Code words and a number-based system. You could ask "What's your 20?" for "Where are you located?," or say "10-7" for "Goodbye," and many, many more.
The "Big Ten!" in Battle of the Planets was an off-shoot of this. A sort of nod to the CB craze. I always assumed it to be their version of the "10-4" code which meant, "I understand," "I hear," "I acknowledge" "Roger," etc.
Hope this helped!