five-by-five

[ fahyv-bahy-fahyv ]

adjective

, Slang: Facetious.

1. short and fat.

five by five

interjection

1. an expression used in telecommunications to state that a signal is being received clearly

Word History and Origins

Origin of five-by-five¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

In what’s billed as a “five-by-five” approach, it aims to achieve its climate goals through a mixture of policy influence, financing, technical assistance, governance and sharing knowledge across nations.

From Seattle Times

Lisa Lee, then a Ph.D. student, started with a fresh sheet of paper and folded it into a five-by-five grid of square facets, all of equal area; compared with a typical crumpling in the experiment, this produced a very different size distribution of facets.

From New York Times

On the right is a small, five-by-five square — 25 flags.

From Washington Post

Andrei Sator’s surname comes from the Sator Square, a five-by-five grid of interlocking letters that reads the same in every direction.

From Slate

But, Chapman says, “our brain loves to be reset. Five-by-five is what we call it. Take five minutes five times a day to let your brain stop. It could be a walk around where you are inside, or go outside. Let your engine reset.”

From Seattle Times