The words "whiskey," "tango," and "foxtrot" stand for the letters W, T, and F in the international NATO Phonetic Alphabet, a military and law-enforcement system for clearly spelling out words and phrases during radio and other audio transmissions. In combination, the initials "WTF" are an early 21st Century abbreviation standing for "What the Fuck?" (See also the Trivia section for the eponymous season 3 episode of "The Good Wife.")