AN EMB145 CAPT RPTED THAT DURING A HOLD ZAU USED NONSTANDARD PHRASEOLOGY; CAUSING A BREAKDOWN IN COM BTWN ZAU AND C90.

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COMING FROM GRB TO ORD; 3 HRS LATE DUE TO WX AT ORY. FO PF; CAPT IS PNF BEING GIVEN A LINE CHK BY COMPANY CHK AIRMAN. WE WERE GIVEN HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS BY ZAU TO HOLD NW AT 14000 FT AT TEDDY INTXN; 10 DME LEGS. EXPECT FURTHER CLRNC IN ABOUT 1/2 HR. AFTER FIRST TURN IN HOLD; TFC WAS BEING RELEASED INTO ORD. WE WERE TOLD TO DSND TO 10000 FT. 2 MIN LATER ZAU TOLD US THAT ORD HAD LOST A RWY AND WAS NO LONGER ACCEPTING TFC. WE WERE TOLD TO STOP AT 11000 FT. WE COMPLETED 2 FULL TURNS INTO THE HOLD WHERE ZAU TOLD US THAT WE WERE NEXT OUT OF THE HOLD. WE CONTINUED INBOUND AND JUST APCHED THE FIX WHEN CTR TOLD US TO DSND TO 9000 FT AND TO BE 210 KTS AT 9000 FT. CTR HANDED US OFF TO ORD APCH AS WE PASSED THE FIX. WE STARTED OUR TURN AGAIN IN THE HOLD AS WE SWITCHED TO ORD APCH; AS CTR HAD NOT CLRED US TO A FIX. ORD APCH WAS BUSY AND WE GOT THEM AS WE WERE ON THE OUTBOUND LEG. APCH TOLD US TO GO BACK TO CTR. WE COMPLIED AND CTR GAVE US VECTORS TO AVOID TFC. EVENTUALLY WE WERE HANDED BACK TO ORD APCH AND THE REST OF THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL; EXCEPT FOR ORD GND BEING VERY; VERY; VERY BUSY. DISCUSSING WITH MY FO AND CHK AIRMAN; WE AGREED THAT ZAU STATING THAT WE WERE NEXT OUT OF THE HOLD DID NOT GIVE US CLRNC TO LEAVE. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN A VECTOR OR FIX TO GO TO. I CAN ONLY SECOND-GUESS THAT THE CTLR THOUGHT HE TOLD US TO GO TO ORD WHEN HE ONLY GAVE US A FREQ CHANGE. THE VOLUME OF TFC PREVENTED US FROM CONFIRMING WITH ORD APCH UNTIL WE WERE COMMITTED TO STAY IN THE HOLD.