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.
Interjection used on Citizens Band radio as a way to call or attract listeners, either anyone who wil respond or a particular CB user. The CBer says "Breaker" and then releases his microphone, listening to see if anyone answers...
A tool similiar to a wratchet but longer and with a stationary head used to loosen / tighten high torque nuts and bolts or other such fasteners.
n. A breeze block is a concrete block made with a blend of concrete and ash but in some regions of the world, concrete blocks are referred generically as “breeze blocks,” whether or not ash is blended with them. These blocks can...
In agreement with the first poster to this term, bricking is commonly used in the electronics industry by software developers when updating a piece of hardware with a software update that renders the hardware useless after the...
Informal Lunch meeting in a company, where one person (from any department) volunteers to talk about a specific topic. Topic is usually related to the technology, business or market that company is in. Attendence is encouraged...
A brown box is a hardware product that includes only the necessary products needed to install into a computer. These products are generally much cheaper than a retail version of the product because it does not include the...
Riveter, One who deforms one end of a rivet in order to fasten two pieces of metal together. One who crimps the head of the rivet. A bucked end of the rivet is the end that has been deformed on the job site/while riveting while...
A slogan meant to convey 'Get to work!' or to say 'Quit lollygagging and get back to work!. For example: Last week the section Boss walked through the office and caught one person surfing the net at their workstation instead of...
A sugary drink mixed in vast quantities from a mysterious powder commonly served on US Navy vessels in the enlisted men's mess. Can also be used to clean brass.
A Naval term. We use it in the Marines as well. The term bulkhead means wall.
The proper English phrase for telling someone to put something somewhere.
A knife you can open and close by turning around the two sides of the grasp. Usually used in ghettos or for little assaults in quicky market. For the clever ones you can learn some tricks that make you look very very dangerous...
The telephone lineman or repairman's test set was invented by Mr. Buttinsky. It is also called in the field a butt-set, butt-in set, butt-out set, or just a Buttinsky. The telephone lineman/repairman could clip anywhere in the...
UK English term for a sandwich, particularly said from Birmingham upwards. The London equivalent would be "sarnie". Probably comes from the word butter.
A basketball player. Professional basketball began in 1896 in New York City and was at one time played on courts enclosed by wire mesh, or cages.
A type of gun which can hold up to 100 rounds since the clip is a horizontal cylinder which sits on top of the barrel.
v. To fail to make a complete stop at a red light or stop sign, especially when turning. Also known as a California stop.
(1)(n) Bathroom (2)(n) Jail, overnight clink or holding cell (3)(n) Buttocks (4)(vb) To stop doing something; to fire or get rid of someone
(Philippine English borrowed from British English) Cafeteria.
An architectural/structural term meaning "overhang," or a really nerdy way to talk about someone with large breasts.
a cash crop is a crop that is produced and distributed simply for its commercial value rather than for use by the farmer/producer.
catalytic converter an emissions control device put on cars since the 1970s uses heat and chemical reaction to burn off pollutants in exhaust gas
A white, viscous liquid adhesive which is waterproof when dry. The most common use is in buildings, to seal spaces (i.e., around windows) that would ordinarily reduce the efficiency of insulation.
CDR is an abbreviation for the the term Call Detail Recording. It is the data that is submitted by your telephone system to a collection device linked to your call accounting package. The data contains particular information...
Modern definition: Bling worn around the neck, often made of gold, silver, or platinum. Featured in a Jibbs song. Traditional definition: Metal links that are locked together to make a strong and flexible line. Chains are...
To drop the shell of a car over the frame or chassis. Effectivley lowering the overall ride height of the vehicle.
Slang for chewing tobacco. Instead of chew, we refer to it as a chatter. The chatter will be spit into the schpater.
A length of pipe slid over the handle of a wrench to increase the amount of torque, usually used when a breaker bar is unavailable. A form of jury-rig.
A style of hat / cap. Also known as a Flat Cap or Driver's Cap. The origin for the name Cheese Cutter seems rather vague. It may be because the cap often had chin straps, which might cut into the chin.
In sports, someone who prefers to take only easy shots. Mildly disparaging. A common example comes from basketball, in which a "cherry picker" is a person who favors short shots, but especially a person who sits in the back court...
A control bit stored in a register, used in ASICs and other integrated circuits to disable or enable features within a chip . This is done for debugging and troubleshooting.
California Highway Patrol officers, CHPs, a term often used by truckers to warn each other that the highway patrol is about.
chit1 CHit/Submit noun 1. a short official note, memorandum, or voucher, typically recording a sum owed. 2. The sound a single squirrel makes in warning to other squirrels. (A group of squirrel chatting to each other is called...
A method of felling a tree, where as opposed to cutting in a "birds mouth" then cutting across from the other side, in the traditional way, you cut straight through, then keep the tree verticle, and drop it on the ground, then...
To take over some boring as batshit labour intensive task to help a mate out and give em a break.
A punter that buys or sells a commodity with a hope of making a quick buck, but has no true conviction for the trade. The only hope for a chopper to succeed is luck!
When used in a business context. noun: Churn is used when referring to 'churn rate'. Churn rate or churn, is the percentage of people that stop using or subscribing to a service within a certain time frame. For a business to be...
A pipe, slide or chamber used for transporting goods or garbage from one side of a building to another.
circuit breaker or breaker is an automatic resettable switch used for electrical distribution and circuit protection in residential commercial and industrial buildings and has replaced fuses as the preferred electrical...
A mechanical fitting, typically found on a boat or dock, which is used to secure lines and allow sailors to quickly fasten, release, or adjust lines under tension, providing stability and control while preventing the line from...
Command Line Interface What all computers were before GUIs came about. CLI is an interface that only uses text. Some stupid people and groups (like micro$oft, apple and linspire) try to get rid of CLI taking a lot of power away...
television remote control; term dates from the late 1960s when the first tv remotes made a loud click when the buttons were pressed (because they sent an audible high-pitched noise to a microphone in the tv which would then...
(n) 1. The incombustible residue, fused into an irregular lump, that remains after the combustion of coal. 2. A partially vitrified brick or a mass of bricks fused together. 3. An extremely hard burned brick. 4. Vitrified matter...
1) To regard an act or object. 2) The act of hitting a person. 3) A gauge, such as a speedometer. 4) To gauge, to estimate, to time.
to register one's departure from work on an automatic time recorder
On manual transmissions, the clutch is a mechanical device--operated by the clutch pedal--that engages and disengages the engine from the transmission so that you can change gears, idle without moving, etc. It generally consists...
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK. The colors used to make color printouts from either inkjet or laser printers.
Certified Nurses Aide. Works in a healthcare facility assisting with daily living tasks of the elderly.
Computer Numeical Control: An automated method of controlling motion that is commonly applied to machines which perform industrial operations such as milling, turning, cutting, etc. These machines can typically be programmed...
Originally used with reference to miners i.e those who remove coal from the 'face' of the mine, its now more commonly used to mean any work closest to the frontline
Acronym for Close of Business. Usually referring to a 5:00PM deadline.
colony collapse disorder CALL o knee co LAPSE dis OR der n. the rapid loss of adult worker bees from the colony over a very short period of time, at a time in the season when we wouldn't expect a rapid die-off of workers: late...
in golf, on a chip when the ball is heading back toward the ground
The process by which Sediments one pressed together under their own wieght
A large dumpster that some stores use instead of regular dumpsters. Items are sent down a chute and then crushed. This way more garbage is storable, and so more stores are starting to use them. A compactor is also a dumpster...
(CFD) physics the quantitative study of fluids and their actions given a set of events. For use in the creation of soup, chemical based reactors, vehicles, risk assessments, damage assessments, meteorological predictions, and...
in science conductor is a material that allows heat and electricity to pass through it easily
Used by military personnel to report an encounter with enemy forces. Enemy forces are not necessarily human enemy but can be enemy IDF (Indirect fire) ie Artillery, or IED's/mines.
The term cookie cutter is used to describe anything that is mass produced quickly and of low quality. See cheezy.
A super useful liquid for your cars radiator to prevent it from overheating, or freezing in very cold conditions. It is usually (but not always) brightly coloured, and comes in either a pre-mix or concentrate.
One industrial term every weekday, with the trade it belongs to and why it is worth knowing. No advertising.