500 pieces of shop floor, site and apprentice slang. The language that never makes it into a catalogue.
Fun terms are quoted from Urban Dictionary, where a lot of trade slang gets written down first. Each entry links back to the original and credits its author. These are how people talk, not what belongs in a specification.
Acronym for Anti-lock Braking System. This system uses a computer to control your brakes on your car by applying and releasing your brakes quickly to prevent skidding or sliding from occuring.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ADSL is a fully digital, dedicated connection to the telephone system that provides download speeds up to 9 Mbps and upload speeds up to 1Mbps over PSTN lines. Internet service providers must...
Truckers' lingo; long strip of tire tread left behind after a blowout, usually a recapped tire.
Aeronautical term designing the angle formed by the nose of the plane and the relative wind (vector) of the plane. Should no exceed 10° for most planes for safe flight, but can be way higher in certain maneuvers, such as the...
A young person who is learning a trade or proffesion by working alongside an expert, usually for a set period of time at low wages.
Aplication Specific Integrated Circuit. An integrated circuit designed to perform one particular function very quickly.
1. A fan of Jane Austen's books, such as "Pride and Prejudice". 2. A metallic, non-magnetic solid solution of carbon and iron that exists in steel above the critical temperature of 1333°F ( 723°C).
The person who ALWAYS has to micro-manage EVERYTHING, constantly looking over your shoulder, adding their opinions, and what they deem to be a more proficient way of doing whatever it is, added as corrections to the thing that...
An explosive surge in a fire produced by the sudden mixing of air with other combustible gases. This is caused by a condition in a fire where oxygen is depleted and the fire dies down until a door is opened and the fire flares...
A veihicle that has a arm-like attachment that can dig below the serface. Usually a Tractor with a Front-end Loader on the front, and a backhoe on the rear. Can also refer to a tracked machine with a backhoe up front, but is...
A product, device or service that appears to work, but when you look deeper turns out to be a collection of badly thought out and badly implemented ideas that is going to cause you no end of grief.
part in the toilet that lets in the water. also known as a fill valve.
In current usage, any disastrous situation. The balls referred to are NOT testicles. The term dates from the days of wooden sailing ships when the existence of a shipboard disaster, such as plague, lack of food or water, mutiny...
Any dirty / dust covered car or vehicle - not necessarily classic, special or remotely desirable - which the owner describes as a 'barn find' to try and up-sell and achieve a higher price than it is worth.
verb to attach or adhere to something (can be either literal or figurative), like the crustacean of the same name that attaches itself to the hull of a ship
A typically off-road radio control vehicle not usually meant for racing but instead for recreational driving. Often 'bashers' sport hopped-up components aimed at durability because they are typically driven recklessly.
BBS is an acronym for Bulletin Board System, which were old timey computer networks. Each was privately owned, and you would dial in to connect. Once there you could share text files/warez/pics, or talk about random stuff with...
Beans are a cheap commodity, so to count them is a rather silly thing to do. A "bean counter" is one who nitpicks over small things in order to save costs. It is a derogatory term for accountants, bankers, and anyone who holds a...
A car used for daily transport to avoid damage or wear on a nicer car.
a quick and direct route (from the belief that bees take such routes when they return to their hives)
To watch for and phtograph graffiti on trains. Derived from NYC subway graffiti culture, writers would sit on a bench and watch the painted up trains go by.
A negative way of describing someone in the scientific field who spends a vast majority of his or her time in front of a bench or lab station performing mundane and repetitive tasks. The typical entry level position for college...
1. To be dishonest or corrupt, often used in reference to a police officer. 2. To be at a stage of severe intoxication due to the use of narcotics and/or alcohol. 3. To be homosexual or effeminate in appearance or nature.
In mountain biking terms - A cambered corner allowing the rider to continue at high speed
The big end reciprocates in a thrusting motion and at speed which increases friction on the side walls. The larger end of one's rod rotating at high speeds developing thrust but requires excessive lubrication to reduce excessive...
the part of a boat inside the hull but below the floor-boards
A job you hold among a group. Frequently a military term, used in place of "job", or "position". Often comes with some responsibility or authority.
Building Information Modeling Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data during the building's life cycle
The group of tangled wires behind your home entertainment system about to start a fire and blow up your whole freakin home.
To convince by rhetoric; to gain acceptance or approval through persuasive banter or conversation; trickery; keenly persuasive; to scrounge by means of conversation.
Bleeding edge means very new technology. More than Leading edge, Cutting edge or State of the art. A technology which is so new that using it still hurts you (mentally). Produkts which needs more work on it to be practical and...
Can be when driving in a car that the frame is to bulky around the windows obstructing the vision or in a game of chess not being able to see a peace on the board.
A type of retail packaging that looks like a transparent bubble glued or taped to a cardboard backing.
A condition exhibited by a worn-out internal combustion engine when the piston rings no longer efficiently seal the combustion chamber, allowing compressed air and fuel to escape the cylinder and thus power is lost and emissions...
1) Very busy, usually because to-dos weren't consolidated properly. (Used chiefly at a restaurant) 2) It can also refer to the crazy things a specific table wants you to do for them. 3) Sometimes, it can refer to other restaurant...
When a computer or piece of electric equipment is broken by the user messing with the insides.
A specific type of coaxial cable connector that locks into place with a quarter-twist. The meaning of the acronym "BNC" is largely ambiguous, with various interpretations such as "Bayonet Neil-Concelman", "British Naval...
This is the device that you tell the rookie new-hire carpenter to go get for you out of the foreman's truck so you can get the board he just cut 2 inches too short to fit right in the new kitchen cabinet. It only exists in the...
Noun: a vehicle utilized by the dirt whisperer to move dirt that may cause damage to septic and sprinkler systems.
A quick and dirty job, something done very hastily. Make it look good for the next day or two and if it falls down after that, it's alright.
Any job done by someone else who are distracted or careless with their work and make a total bodge Job of it. Also known as Botch Job.
Someone who is over-confident when it comes to fixing something and usually creates a much larger problem. They will also blame it on an unrelated issue after messing it up.
An auto repair shop or garage specializing in fixes or modifications to a car's chassis (doors, hood, bumpers)... As opposed to a conventional auto mechanic who fixes mostly motors.
Scientist /egghead; highly qualified in his field . Someone who knows a great deal about very little . Origin: 1930's/40's Royal Air Force slang .
An aeriral radar contact that has not yet been confirmed as hostile.
Alumni and anyone who goes to Purdue University in Indiana. The official mascot for Purdue is the "Boilermaker Special"
A thick post on a ship or wharf AKA dock or pier, used for securing ropes and hawsers..
BOM. noun or adjective. Stands for Bill of Materials = BOM. This acronym has been turned into a word and is often used as a noun meaning; materials, bill or materials, or supplies. The Corps of Engineers in their relief effort to...
In rock climbing, a hold that is really big or deep or otherwise so good that it is "bomb-proof". Can also be used of equipment that is so good as to be infalliable.
The plate to put bones on when eating chicken wings or BBQ ribs.
A person who steals items from retail stores only to then sell on the streets, usually for a discounted price.
(n)(v)Military term: 1. Used to describe someone who is right out of boot camp and or their MOS school; 2. one who is unexperienced; 3. usually the target of hazing; 4. One who is still stuck in boot camp mode.
Something that is illegally copied distributed or sold without permission from the copyright or trademark owner. A counterfeit of an official product or a fake product that does not exist.
A bottleneck is a point of congestion in a production system (such as an assembly line or a computer network) that occurs when workloads arrive too quickly for the production process to handle.
1. To reach the lowest possible price 2. To reach the lowest limit
n. A non-existent branch of mechanical engineering that gets little respect; the science and technology associated with designing brackets. (A bracket is a support, consisting of metal or wood, projecting from a wall or the like...
A formerly necessary wagon attached to the back of a train. The brake van was used to stop a train in case of an emergency (such as if a coupling had snapped, and the latter half of the train was rolling down a steep hill). On...
comes from phrase used for a secondary rail route, which branches of the main route. most branch lines are now closed in the UK. to say some one has there own branchline means they're a loner, weird and a bit lost in the head...
Also known as breakout board, a breadboard is used to make electronic crafts when you cannot/do not have a soldiering iron.
1. to no longer be in an involved relationship i.e. Jenny needs to break up with Rick 2. to have a bad connection between two cellular phone users i.e. "Jenny, you're breaking up," said Rick.
One industrial term every weekday, with the trade it belongs to and why it is worth knowing. No advertising.