Roger that
81
8.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
entendido
- When I asked if he understood the instructions, he replied, Roger that.
- Roger that, I copy
- Got that? Roger that
- Roger that, sir
And the team who trusts you says, Roger that, boss, we got it.
- And the team who trusts you says, Roger that, boss, we got it.
- I was like, Roger that, Sir.
Examples
-
Roger that, two-niner.
Fiction book (1996) -
Nothing. "Roger that," Austin replied.
Fiction book (1999) -
And the team who trusts you says, Roger that, boss, we got it.
-
'Two minutes, tops.' - Roger that.
-
Roger that, Jay in D.C.
Blog text (1) -
- Roger that, sir.
-
Roger that, Minesweeper is in the loop five yards away.
-
"Roger that, Dr. Pete."
Fiction book (2001) -
We got a dragon to kill! - Goosh, set the triangulators! - Roger that!
-
Roger that, Charles!
Blog text (10)
Synonyms
17
7.6
I have received and understand the message
7
8.8
A short sound people use to show agreement or understanding
1
8.4
A short informal way to say okay
Short written form used in notes to show someone got something
Surface Forms
Morphology
Roger + that
The phrase is a fixed radio/communication formula where 'Roger' functions as jargon meaning 'received/understood' and 'that' merely points to the message; the overall meaning ('acknowledged/understood') is not compositionally derivable from the ordinary senses of the constituents. A B1 learner who only knows 'that' and treats 'Roger' as a name or general verb would not predict the idiomatic acknowledgement sense without prior exposure, so it is opaque.
Etymology
Roger that comes from old radio talk. People on the radio used Roger for the letter R, and R meant 'received', so Roger that was a short way to say 'message received' and now means 'I understand'.