Editing Oly Oly Oxen Free

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'''Oly Oly Oxen Free''' is a six note, six beat tone used as an all clear code by the [[Spartan-II]]'s. They learned it from [[Deja]] on [[Reach]] when they were younger and have been using it ever since. Spartans would either just whistle the tone or would whistle it and shout ''"Oly Oly Oxen Free"'' after. <ref name="tango">''[[Halo: First Strike]] Page 166''</ref> The proper counter-response was ''"Oly Oly Oxen Free, All out in the free, We're all free."''<ref name="tango"/>

==Psychology==
''Oly Oly Oxen Free'' was a secret amongst the [[Spartan II]]s. They, and a select few outsiders knew it. Those outsiders were close to the [[Spartan II]]'s "family"; such as [[Dr. Catherine Halsey]], [[Cortana]], and [[Sergeant Johnson]]. Thus, the signal was extremely important to each Spartan; they would rather die than give up the significance of the tone, which could potentially be used to betray or endanger their teammates. They learned this tune/code from their [[AI]] instructor, [[Deja]], while they were training on Reach.

==Uses==

The term ''Oly Oly Oxen Free'' was used on numerous occasions throughout [[Halo: First Strike]]. Some of the times it was used are as follows:

*After the Spartan Team had beaten [[Tango Company]] and [[Master Chief|John-117]] had checked to make sure their evacuation point was all clear.<ref name="tango"/>
*After the [[Battle of Reach]], [[Anton-044]] used it as an S.O.S. signal over the [[COM|E-Band]]. <ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]] page 56''</ref>
*In order to allow the [[Spartans]] to enter [[CASTLE Base]], [[Kelly-087]] used it to let [[Dr. Halsey]] know it was them. <ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', page 118: ''"Or maybe you're just not saying anything they want to hear," Kelly said. She whistled a six-note singsong tune.''</ref>
*During [[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]], [[Linda-058]] used it to let John know where she was so he could find her and pick her up. <ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]] Page 322''</ref>
*At the end of Operation: FIRST STRIKE, Sergeant Johnson used it to let Blue team know that the [[Gettysburg]] was holding station behind a nearby moon. <ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]] Page 326''</ref>
*When the rest of [[Blue Team]], minus [[John-117]] arrives on [[Onyx]], Kelly whispers "Olly Olly Oxen Free" (probably a misprint as it is spelled with only one L), over the COM. <ref>''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]] Page 236''</ref>
*When Dr. Hasley takes Kelly-087 on the Beatrice with her.
*During the attack on Onyx.

==Non-Canon Use==
[[Marines]] use it on the [[Halo 3]] level "[[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]]" when firing on the first [[Covenant]] encampment, as well as in Crow's Nest, but only if the [[Halo 3: IWHBYD (I Would Have Been Your Daddy) Skull|IWHBYD Skull]] is activated.{{Fact}}

==Trivia==
*[[Dana Awbrey]] alludes to this phrase by titling a blog post "Olly Olly [[Axon]] Free".
*Oly Oly Oxen Free was originally used to tell players in a game of hide and seek that the game was over and they could come out of hiding.
*Oly Oly Oxen Free has [[7]] syllables.
*In the book [[Ghosts of Onyx]] Oly Oly Oxen Free is misspelled it is incorrectly spelled "Olly Olly Oxen Free".

==Sources==
<references/>

==Related Links==

*[[Spartan Language]]

{{SpartanPrograms}}



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