Every type of business
and every craft has developed a unique slang specific to the work they do, the
processes they employ, and the tools they use. Often, terms used “in the field” mean nothing
near what you might suspect upon first hearing them. Following are a few terms used by electricians
on a regular basis.
Asshole
in the Wire: An
unwanted loop or tangle in wire you are trying to pull into a conduit.
Birddog: A supervisor who is always lurking around
to see what you are doing.
Bone
Pile: Scraps of
conduit, including cut ends and mis-bends.
Butt
Splice: An in-line
compression splice for conductors (where two ends butt together).
Dog
Leg:
A misaligned offset bend in conduit.
Let
the Smoke Out: When
you mis-wire equipment and burn it up upon applying power.
No-Dog:
A type of level used specifically for
producing aligned offset bends in conduit.
Peckerhead:
The termination box attached to an
electrical motor for connecting circuit conductors to the factory motor
windings. (This term often lands electricians in trouble, but the origins are likely not close to what you might guess. The origins of this term have to do with an early style of
termination head that, when removed, exposed connection contacts that looked
like a chicken’s beak.)
Rabbit:
Scrap wire.
Rabbit
Gun: Wire snippers for large conductors.
Smoke
Test:
Energize equipment for the first time.
Soap: Wire pulling lubricant.
--Mitchell
Hegman
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