distance unit click
Keith Gatford
Just been watching a war movie. The military use the term "click" as a
unit of distance.
How many meters is a click?
thanks, Keith
Rusty Myers
--
Rusty Myers
Austin, TX
"Keith Gatford" <keith....@psd.invensys.com> wrote in message
news:3e690998$0$20248$4d4e...@read.news.fi.uu.net...
Keith Gatford
"Rusty Myers" <myers...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:WV7aa.12088$z54.4...@twister.austin.rr.com...
> Kilometer, so 1000 meters
>
Thanks. I have never heard this term used before in Europe. Is it still
being used in the USA and how come they don't just use KM? What is the
history?
Dave Patton
> Hi,
> Just been watching a war movie. The military use the term "click"
> as a
> unit of distance.
> How many meters is a click?
Actually, it's normally "klick":
http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/militaryFARQ.html
http://www.capmarine.com/cap/glossary.htm#K
You often hear the term here in Canada, and people
are using it to refer to kilometers, as in
"the next Tim Hortons is just a few more klicks" :-)
--
Dave Patton
Canadian Coordinator, the Degree Confluence Project
http://www.confluence.org dpa...@confluence.org
My website: http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/
Graham
> Just been watching a war movie. The military use the term "click" as
> a unit of distance.
> How many meters is a click?
1000.
Graham
> Thanks. I have never heard this term used before in Europe. Is it
> still being used in the USA and how come they don't just use KM?
> What is the history?
I have no idea what the history is, but the use of the word "click" to
mean either a kilometer or a kilometer an hour is common in Australia.
"How far is the next town?"
"About 40 clicks."
"How fast were you *really* going when the cop pulled you over?"
"About 130 clicks."
J. J. Lodder
> "Keith Gatford" <keith....@psd.invensys.com> wrote in
> news:3e690998$0$20248$4d4e...@read.news.fi.uu.net:
>
> > Hi,
> > Just been watching a war movie. The military use the term "click"
> > as a
> > unit of distance.
> > How many meters is a click?
>
> Actually, it's normally "klick":
What's the origin?
Does it derive from kilometer in some way?
Jan
Gary S.
Lodder) wrote:
>> Actually, it's normally "klick":
>
>What's the origin?
>Does it derive from kilometer in some way?
>
From the site: http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/militaryFARQ.html
Q: How far is a klick?
A: In many military-related movies and television shows, characters
describe distances in terms of "klicks", causing many people to wonder
what a "klick" (also sometimes spelled "click", "klik", or "clic") is.
This term is shorthand/slang for a "kilometer". We found its
definition in several on-line glossaries, including this Glossary of
Words used by CAP Marines in Vietnam
(http://www.capmarine.com/cap/glossary.htm) and this Language of War
page from the PBS web site for their "Vietnam Online" program.
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/refer/language.html) Finally, it
is also worth noting that the book War Slang by Paul Dickson (London:
Pocket Books, 1994) indicates that "klick" originated in the Vietnam
war, and also gives a second definition as "a short distance."
From the site: http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictC.html
click
U.S. military slang for the kilometer (about 0.621 mile). Also spelled
klick or klik. This unit became popular during the Vietnam War, but it
was invented by U.S. troops in Germany during the 1950s. Occasionally
it was used as a non-metric unit equal to 1000 yards (0.9144
kilometer).
From the site:
http://www.thevietnam-database.co.uk/Resource/Abbreviations.htm
KLICK - A kilometer, the U.S. military uses the metric system.
BTW, I was able to Google up these references, and many more with the
search terms "+kilometer +klick +origin". Google is your friend.
Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence
Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
J. J. Lodder
> On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:14:55 +0100, nos...@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J.
> Lodder) wrote:
>
> >> Actually, it's normally "klick":
> >
> >What's the origin?
> >Does it derive from kilometer in some way?
snip refs thanks,
> KLICK - A kilometer, the U.S. military uses the metric system.
>
> BTW, I was able to Google up these references, and many more with the
> search terms "+kilometer +klick +origin". Google is your friend.
I know, but I was asking for somthing else;
why klick, rather than klom, or kilm.
I'll ask alt.usage.english sometime,
Jan
Gary S.
Lodder) wrote:
>I know, but I was asking for somthing else;
>why klick, rather than klom, or kilm.
>
>I'll ask alt.usage.english sometime,
>
In word usage, with a little research, one can find out the "what" and
the "when", but "why" may be more elusive. Some terms used by the
military, and other radio users, might be used because they sound
extremely different, even when communications quality is poor.
Sometimes a word or phrase becomes popular because of its use in the
popular media of the day, sometimes people use it because it sounds
cool.
Les
HADN'T seen Apocalypse Now!!!
;-)
J. J. Lodder
> On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 09:35:52 +0100, nos...@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J.
> Lodder) wrote:
>
> >I know, but I was asking for somthing else;
> >why klick, rather than klom, or kilm.
> >
> >I'll ask alt.usage.english sometime,
> >
> In word usage, with a little research, one can find out the "what" and
> the "when", but "why" may be more elusive. Some terms used by the
> military, and other radio users, might be used because they sound
> extremely different, even when communications quality is poor.
>
> Sometimes a word or phrase becomes popular because of its use in the
> popular media of the day, sometimes people use it because it sounds
> cool.
I started wondering if there is some military device
that emits a click every 1000 metres :-)
Jan
Graham
> I started wondering if there is some military device
> that emits a click every 1000 metres :-)
The common or garden variety automotive odometer clicks over every 1km.
Unless of course you've got a really really old car with miles.
Pat Norton
>The common or garden variety automotive odometer clicks over every
1km
Not quite. The second last digit does km. The last digit clicks over
every 100m. It is convenient for following directions given by people
or roadsigns.
>Unless of course you've got a really really old car with miles.
The second last digit does miles. The last digit clicks over every 176
yd (Brits/Irish think in yards or metres) or 528 ft (US people think
in feet). It is not quite so convenient unless directions are purely
in miles.
Robertwgross
My car's odometer displays miles or kilometers and does not display tenths.
The trip odometer displays miles or kilometers and also displays tenths.
---Bob Gross---
Graham
> >The common or garden variety automotive odometer clicks over every
> > 1km
Pat Norton wrote:
> Not quite. The second last digit does km. The last digit clicks over
> every 100m. It is convenient for following directions given by people
> or roadsigns.
On most modern cars the odometer only has 1km precision, the resettable
trip meter has 0.1km precision.
J. J. Lodder
But do you have one that actually clicks?
Or is that a privilidge of the military?
Jan
Pat Norton
>My car's odometer displays miles or kilometers and does not display tenths.
>The trip odometer displays miles or kilometers and also displays tenths.
A fair point. The legal requirement is merely that tenths are displayed somewhere.
Graham
> >My car's odometer displays miles or kilometers and does not display
> >tenths. The trip odometer displays miles or kilometers and also
> >displays tenths.
Pat Norton wrote:
> A fair point. The legal requirement is merely that tenths are
> displayed somewhere.
Which legal requirement? ECE? FMVSS? CMVSS? ADR? New South Wales state
legislation? UK legislation? Japanese registration standards?
Remember this is an international forum and that something like this is
not internationally uniform.
Graham
> But do you have one that actually clicks?
> Or is that a privilidge of the military?
8-)
I have a speedo/odometer in my Morris Minor which clicks, but I don't
think it was supposed to when it was manufactured 42 years ago.
Alan White
wrote:
>
>I have a speedo/odometer in my Morris Minor which clicks, but I don't
>think it was supposed to when it was manufactured 42 years ago.
It did.
--
Alan White
Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow.
Overlooking Loch Goil and Loch Long in Argyll, Scotland.
http://tinyurl.com/55v3
Pat Norton
>Remember this is an international forum and that something like this
is
>not internationally uniform.
Mea culpa. I consider myself internationally aware and able to back up
statements with online references. I erred on both counts. Please
ignore my last posting.
I merely revert to my opinion that kilometre odometers should be more
useful in metric countries than mile odometers in non-metric countries
because of how the tenths can be used.
J. J. Lodder
> On Fri, 11 Apr 2003 03:58:28 +1000, Graham <zeb...@alphalink.com.au>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >I have a speedo/odometer in my Morris Minor which clicks, but I don't
> >think it was supposed to when it was manufactured 42 years ago.
>
> It did.
Wonderful.
And it gives 5 clicks when it passes 100,000?
Jan
J. J. Lodder
Alan White
Lodder) wrote:
>
>Wonderful.
>And it gives 5 clicks when it passes 100,000?
>
One very loud click?
I don't know. The one I drove was sold in 1961.