loud and clear

A response to something that has been stated with intensity, intended to indicate that the listener understands the seriousness of the message. Essentially a shortening of "I hear you loud and clear." A: "If you come home after curfew one more time, you'll be grounded for the next two months—do you hear me?" B: "Loud and clear, Mom."

clear and distinctly. (Originally said of radio reception that is heard clearly and distinctly.) Tom: If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: Stop it! Do you hear me? Bill: Yes, loud and clear. I hear you loud and clear.

Easily audible and understandable. For example, They told us, loud and clear, what to do in an emergency, or You needn't repeat it-I hear you loud and clear. This expression gained currency in the military during World War II to acknowledge radio messages ( I read you loud and clear) although it originated in the late 1800s.

COMMON If an idea, opinion, or message is loud and clear, it is expressed clearly and forcefully. The message must come across loud and clear from the manager: No matter how hard I ask you to work, I work as hard or harder. Our views and our voices are being heard loud and clear in the town hall. Note: You can also use loud and clear before a noun. The international community has sent a loud and clear message that all expressions of hatred and intolerance are unacceptable.

Plainly audible and understandable; emphatically. This expression was widely used in the armed forces during World War II to acknowledge radio messages. It often was a response to “How do you read me?” the answer being “I read you loud and clear.” The same pairing, however, was made by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass (1872), in which Humpty Dumpty recites to Alice, “I said it very loud and clear; I went and shouted in his ear. But he was very stiff and proud; He said, You needn’t shout so loud.” This meaning persists in the cliché—that is, I understand you perfectly well, and you need not repeat that over and over.