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Construction Jargon
"Glossary"

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Words or short phrases unique to your trade or profession is a good place to start.

Jargon List
Slang words in the UK NEW!

Jargon List:

200 Mile per Hour Tape: Duct Tape
African Solder: Duct Sealer
Arnworker: an iron worker on one of my sites had this licence plate (BB)
Apprentice: Someone new to the trade; student; trainee
Blade: Motor grader
Blue Flu: Hangover
Blue Room: or green, depending on the color of the portable toilets the job gets. (BB)
Board Stretcher: Used to stretch a board that was cut too short.
Carpenter:Woodpecker (Marcia & Tim Caveny)
Come Along: This tool is used to assist in alignments, adjustments, and assisting different structural members into their proper place. It is also referred to as a 20 pound sledgehammer. (D.W.)
Cowboy: Scraper operator
Craftsman: Someone with professional skills related to a particular trade or craft.
Dirt jockey: A heavy equipment operator who runs dirt machines. (Frank Boyer)
Drag-up: To resign or quit the job or company.
Duct Stretcher: There is no such thing, although one would be very handy sometimes!
Greaser: Oiler or helper on heavy equipment (usually on cranes).
Grease Monkey: One who greases, fuels, and services heavy equipment and machinery.
Grease Pole: Hydraulic Crane Operator.
Greenhorn: Someone new to the industry, trade or craft.
Hammerfore: This is what you tell the apprentice to go and get from your truck, after an unsuccessful search he will come back and ask, " What's a Hammer for?" This is when you tell him that he may be better off in another career since he doesn't know what a hammer is for. (D. W.)
Headache: Look up, cover your head, something is falling toward your head.
Head Honcho: The boss or other superior.
Hic-Up: Something that has been done, but has to be redone, because it wasn't done right in the first place.
Hot Wrench: Use a torch when a wrench won't work. Burn it off. (Tom Ferrara)
IBEW: I Block Every Walkway
Insulation: Itchulation
Jack Of All Trades: A person that is skilled at many trades.
Journeyman: A skilled craftsman of the trade.
Journeyman: Someone who can do a day's work in his craft without supervision. [From old French "journee," a day's march.] (Marcia & Tim Caveny)
Ginnie Hopper: Aprentice grade checker
Grunt: An unskilled Laborer only used for heavy work. (D. W.)
Lead Pushers: Engineers/Designers.
Lemon Head: Electrician.
Master: A highly skilled craftsperson. Usually associated with those having many years of experience in a specific trade or those holding a qualifying license. A Master Craftsman. Master Electrician, Master Plumber, etc.
Master Craft: Carpentry
Moan Back: Come on back or back up.
Modify: To alter, usually by accident; i.e., "Boss, I just modified your fender with my dozer."
Mucker: A person that uses a shovel, rack, or come-along to move freshly poured concrete.
Mud: Wet concrete.
Mud: Joint compound for taping and finishing drywall (Ken Clark)
Nail Bender: Carpenter
Narrowback: An inside electrician as opposed to an electrcial lineman. (Eric David)
New York screwdriver: A bigger hammer. (Al Burns)
On The Bubble:Meaning Perfectly level or plumb which ever the case may be. Note: Some people are refered to as being more than a half a bubble off. (D.W.)
Op: Equipment operator.
Pipe Fighter: Pipe Fitter.
Plumber-worst: Insult to a pipefitter.
Pusher: Glorfied thankless job for someone who does not have the skills to do what he is telling somebody else to do.
Rod Buster: Iron Worker.
Roper: An electrician whose main projects are residences using Romex [non-metalic sheathed cable]. (Eric David)
Sancho: The stranger that comes to visit your wife while you're working nights or away on a job.
Sewer Surgeon: One who operates on sewage systems, i.e. Plumbers.
Shooter: A powder activated nail or pin shooter (D.W.)
Shovel Jockey: Laborer.
Sidewalk Superintendent: This is the neighborhood guy that always comes around checking on your work, and he tells you how you could do it better. Typically this person is retired, and has no knowledge of construction whatsoever. (D.W.)
Sky Hook: No such thing. [well, maybe there is ;-)]
Sparky: Welder and sometimes an electrician.
Sprinkly Dinks: Fire Sprinkler Systems Installers.
Super: The job or project superintendent.
Swamper: Helper.
Tar Baby: Hot tar roof installer (D.W.)
Teamster: Truck driver. [See origin]
Termite: Carpenter
Tin Banger: One who likes to pound on tin for a living. ie. Sheet Metal Worker.
Tin Knocker: A sheet metal worker. (Fred Watson)
Two-block: When an crane operator hoists a hoist line ball and hook into the boom or jib point sheaves. It is usually caused by an act of negligence, not watching what he/she is doing. That operator is usually tagged with the nick name "Two-block," at least for the remainder of that project and will sometimes carry the name for the rest of their life. It is not usually a cherished name.
Yard Ape: People in charge of the equipment yard.
White Hats: Those funny little guys with white hard hats running around the jobsite tellin ya what to do.
Widow Maker: A poorly constructed scaffolding or staging platform. (D.W.)
Whiskey Stick: A hand held level has alcohol in its vials. (D.W.)
Wood Butcher: Carpenter
Wood Worm: Carpenter.
Add your UK jargon here:

Slang words in the UK
A 1 RB: Shovel (Reject 654)
Brummy Screwdriver: Large Lump Hammer (Reject 654)
Navvies: Labourers (From the terms used to describe the men that built the Canals i.e., Navigators (Reject 654)
Roly Poly: Concrete Mixer (Truck) (Reject 654)
Roly Poly Jockey: Concrete Mixer (Truck) Driver (Reject 654)
Shanty Town: A collection of mobile homes and caravans on a big project (Reject 654)
Slapper: A visitor (F) to the shanty town (Reject 654)
Skin: Labourer (Reject 654)
Slop: Freshly Poured Concrete (Reject 654)
A Rake of Skins: A Gang of Labourers (Reject 654)
Raring Up: Losing your temper (Reject 654)
The GF: General Foreman
The Man with the Shout: Foreman (Reject 654)
The Blue Spanner: Cutting Torch (Reject 654)
Working the Head: Slacking Off (Reject 654)

Teamster: The word originated before trucks were invented. The men that used to drive horse & mule teams were called "Teamsters." After trucks were invented the term carried over to the trucking industry.