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 Program|SPARTAN-II]]s. They, and a select few outsiders knew it. Those outsiders were close to the Spartans' "family"; such as Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]], [[Cortana]], and Sergeant [[Avery 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 [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] instructor, [[Deja]], while they were training on Reach.

==Uses==
The term ''Oly Oly Oxen Free'' was used on numerous occasions throughout Halo. Some of the times it was used are as follows:

*After the Spartan Team had beaten [[Tango Company]] and [[John-117]] had checked to make sure their evacuation point was all clear.<ref name="tango"/>
*After the [[Fall 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]] arrived on [[Onyx]], Kelly whispered "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. Halsey took Kelly-087 on the [[Beatrice]] with her.

==Trivia==
*The [[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 [[IWHBYD Skull (Halo 3)|IWHBYD Skull]] is activated.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level, ''[[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]]''</ref>
*[[Dana Awbrey]] alludes to this phrase by titling a blog post "Oly Oly [[Axons|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 [[List of "seven" references in Halo|7]] syllables which is another 7 reference.
*In the book [[Ghosts of Onyx]], Oly Oly Oxen Free is incorrectly spelled "Olly Olly Oxen Free".{{fact}}

==Sources==
<references/>

== See also ==
*[[Spartan Signals]]

{{SpartanPrograms}}
[[Category:Spartans]]