tango uniform
n.— «It comes with a standard V-6 engine, a new unibody chassis and independent rear suspension, and a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty in case all goes, as they say in the military, tango uniform.» —“Not grand, but good” by Dan Neil Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) Apr. 8, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
For rock climbers, skiers, and other outdoor enthusiasts, the word send has taken on a whole new meaning. You might cheer on a fellow snowboarder with Send it, bro! — and being sendy is a really great thing. Plus: a nostalgic trip to Willa...
There are many proposed origins for the exclamation of surprise, holy Toledo! But the most likely one involves not the city in Ohio, but instead Toledo, Spain, which has been a major religious center for centuries in the traditions of both Islam and...
“Tango” and “Uniform” are the military radio codewords for letters “T” and “U.” The expression is short for T.U., which itself is short for “tits up,” or non-functioning, deceased.
Yes, that’s what my research found, too. However, no dictionary I have includes the expression so it was worth recording here.
The more formal “toes up” is also cited and will never offend those who oppose “taudry” terms like “tits”.
The roots of this go back to the gyroscope in an airplane. Your artificial horizon can only show so much pitch, yaw, roll. When the gyroscope is at the end of its string, the ^^ symbol is shown. This is there the “tits up” comes from. If you are flying so badly that the ^^ symbol is shown, you are in REAL trouble! Take a look at the gyro markings. This goes back 50+ years…