A B737 CREW; IN DSCNT TO MDW; MISINTERPED ATC'S DSCNT CLRNC RESULTING IN AN UNATTAINABLE XING RESTR.

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FO FLYING THE ACFT AND CAPT OFF FREQ GETTING ATIS FOR MDW. FO RECEIVED A CLRNC TO CROSS 6 MI SW OF JOT AT 17000 FT AND NO RESPONSE FROM THE CTLR. CAPT RPTED BACK FROM GETTING ATIS AND FO INFORMED THE CAPT THAT WE HAD A CLRNC TO CROSS 6 MI SW OF JOT AT 17000 FT AND IT HAD BEEN ENTERED INTO THE FMC. WE WERE AT FL290 AND THE CLRNC WAS GIVEN WHEN WE WERE 93 MI FROM JOT. AT 72 MI SW OF JOT; THE CTR CTLR ASKED IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE THE RESTR. WE RESPONDED WE WOULD MAKE 6 MI SW OF JOT AT 17000 FT. THE CTLR SAID HE SAID '60' MI SW OF JOT AT 17000 FT. THE FO SAID HE READ BACK 6 MI SW AT 17000 FT AND ENTERED IT IN THE FMC AND WROTE IT DOWN AND RECEIVED NO RESPONSE FROM THE CTLR. THE CTLR THEN RESPONDED TO US 'I NEED YOU TO EXPEDITE DOWN' AND WE DID. THE NEXT RESPONSE FROM THE CTLR WAS A HDOF TO THE NEXT CTR CTLR. CAUSE: BUSY CTLR; SIMILAR IF NOT IMPROPER TERMINOLOGY; SINGLE PLT OP AND NO RESPONSE FROM CTLR ABOUT THE CORRECT XING RESTR. CURE: PERHAPS WHEN 1 PLT IS OFF FREQ AND A CLRNC IS GIVEN; THE PLT RETURNING TO THE FREQ SHOULD VERIFY THE CLRNC WITH THE CTLR AS WELL AS THE PF. ALSO; TERMINOLOGY: '60 (SIX ZERO) INSTEAD OF 60 (SIXTY) COULD HAVE PREVENTED THE PROB.