Tallyho

The phrase tally-ho is a largely British phrase, which originated from the activity of foxhunting, and other forms of hunting with hounds, shouted when a rider or follower sees the fox. Today the term has evolved to have other meanings, most of which relate to 'pointing out' or 'spotting' a 'target'. For example, it is sometimes used as slang in air traffic control to verify a radar contact has been visually confirmed.

Tally-ho dates from around 1772, and is probably derived from the French taïaut, a cry used to excite hounds when hunting deer. According to other sources, the phrase may have originated from the second half of the 13th century, from the concatenation of a two word war cry: taille haut; "taille" being the cutting edge of the sword and "haut" translating to high (or 'raised up'), thus the original meaning of this interjection is something close to "Swords up!".

"Tally-ho" had its first recorded use in the Americas in an 1773 hunting journal. From there, its use spread as more British colonists arrived. However, the phrase fell out of favour following the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

This expression became commonly used during the Second World War by English-speaking fighter pilots to say that an enemy aircraft has been sighted. It is still used today for this purpose, and also applies to sighting ground targets, though it is generally shortened to "Tally."

Tally-ho is the squadron motto of 609 (West Riding) Squadron, a famous British World War II fighter squadron. 609 (WR) Sqn RAuxAF still exists today, having been reformed in 1998 at Royal Air Force Station Leeming in North Yorkshire, England, UK.

The phrase is also the motto of the US Air Forces 604th ASOS (Air Support Operations Squadron) Headquartered in Uijong-bu South Korea.

This phrase has since been used by civilian pilots in response to traffic advisories provided by air traffic controllers (ATC). The pilot's response "Tally" or "Tally-ho" tells air traffic controllers that the pilot has seen the air traffic in question. For example:

This phrase is not in the official FAA Pilot-Controller Glossary. The proper response to a traffic call issued by ATC is "traffic in sight" or "negative contact" which means previously issued traffic is not in sight.

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