Thank you, Mister magus. I, too, deplore the use of the phrase "Over and out" in movies and tv shows. In radio communications, "over" means "I'm done speaking. Please reply." "Out" means "I'm done speaking and I'm ending this conversation." The Me-TV channel has been re-running the 1965-70 series I Dream Of Jeannie. Larry Hagman played Major Tony Nelson, an astronaut. In several episodes, he ended his radio call by saying "Over and out." It drives me crazy now as much as it did in the '60s!
Today's NEA crossword has 44 black squares. Forty-four! And the grid is only 13x13. Many more black squares and the grid would resemble a checkerboard!