12-9

English Alternative forms en twelve-nine Etymology Originally a radio call sign used by conductors. Noun s 1 en NYC transport somewhat euphemistic An instance of a collision between a person and a subway train, such as a fall into the tracks; used by train conductors in the New York City Subway. 2000-06-13 Clyde Haberman NYC; The Numbers Motormen Dread: 12-9 https://web.archive.org/web/20150527135611/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/13/nyregion/nyc-the-numbers-motormen-dread-12-9.html Whatever the reason, he found it easy to keep his emotions in check the first couple of times that he had a 12-9. Twelve-nine, in transit lingo, is a radio alert that someone has landed under a subway train. 2020-09-23 Daniel A. Gross New York’s Train Operators Face Life After a Collision, in “After the 12-9” https://web.archive.org/web/20200924072252/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/new-yorks-train-operators-face-life-after-a-collision-in-after-the-12-9 Every few days in New York City, a subway operator stops a train, speaks the phrase “12-9” into a radio, and waits what may feel like an eternity for a police officer to arrive and inspect the train and tracks. Operators learn this code during their job training, but many say that the experience is unimaginable until it happens. In the parlance of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 12-9s describe collisions between trains and people. They are the reason that the M.T.A. warns passengers not to walk between subway cars and installs red signs that say, “Do not enter or cross tracks.” In 2019, the M.T.A. recorded a hundred and ninety-five 12-9s, the highest number in at least a decade. About a third are fatal. en Death Suicide