A male is a ‘mike’. We use letters selected from a standard phonetic, or spelling, alphabet so nobody fumbles for words. Spelling alphabets came about because early users of radios ...

The phonetic alphabet, beloved by military and spies alike ... British Sign Language for E. Morse code can be applied to the three white dashes on the road, which translates to the letter O.

Memorise and practise using the useful alfa bravo charlie-style phonetic alphabet, used worldwide to make it easier to spell words over the radio. That might clear up one confusion, but the best way ...