Lineman Slang Dictionary
These are terms used by utility workers. Generally, the proper terms are to the left and the slang on the right.
Aerial Device – aerial bucket, bucket truck, aerial lift, cherry picker, aerial-lift platforms
Aerial Cable Spacer – crow
Alive – hot, energized, alive, heat it up
Anchor – dead man
Apprentice Lineman – mud flap, trainee, learner, grunt, helper, squeak, chump, JAFO (just another #$% observer) dipstick, no class, whistle-pig
Auxiliary Arm – layout arms, hot arm
Backfeed – Live secondary
Bolt Cutter – Pie Knife
Bracket Grounding – Box grounding
Bull Wheel – butterfly
By-Pass – shoo-fly
Can’t Hook – gut wrench, hook, peavy
Capstan Hoist – cat head
Chain Hoist – guy jack, coffin hoist, strong arm
Chain Saw – sander, gas axe
Clampstick – shotgun, grip-all, grab-all, egg sucker
Clamping in – clipping in, tying in
Clearance – work permit, lockout/tagout(LOTO), outage, mark up
Confined Space – enclosed space, restricted space
Connector – bug, fargo, blue dot, double deuce, deuce bug, 336, big bug, green dot, single bolt, double bolt, #6 bug (all depending on the size)
Controlling Authority – dispatch, system control, controlling operators, control room
Daylighting -potholing
Deenergized – dead, cold wires
Digger/Derrick – line truck digger, radial boom derrick (RBD), standard line truck digger (SLTD), electric line truck.
Drill – brace & bit, saw dust pump
Elbows (Load Break and Non Load Break) – pistol grips
Electrician (indoor) – narrow back
Energize – light, light up, liven up, power up, going hot, heat it up
Energized Pole – Hot Pole
ESR Footwear (shock resistant footwear) – DP (Dielectric Protective Footwear), Electrical Resistant Footwear
Extension Link – dillibob, donkey-dick (An 18″ fiberglass link, used when a single phase primary is coming off of a three-phase pole w/crossarm, it extends the single-phase line out past the three-phase arm it goes between the eyebolt and the dead-end insulator, epilator)
Flagger – flagman, flag person, traffic control person, road kill
Floating Dead-ends – openers, live line openers, slug, poor-boy
Fuse Chamber – door, cartridge, fuse tube, gate
Generator – leroy, perkins
Gin – pole buddy, old man, davit
Guy fitting – guy hook, goathead, bullhead, steerhead, guy attachment, p hook, pig ear, ram’s horn, bear paw (not the donut)
Guy Strain Insulator – egg breaker, johnny ball, insul stick
Ground Gradient Mat – Ground mat, switch operating platform, ground plate
Groundman – helper, grunt
Ground Rod Clamp – peanut, acorn
Handline Hook – meat hook, pulley hook
Hazard – danger, widowmaker
Insulator cover – Rubber hood
Job Briefing – tailboard conference, tailboard briefing, toolbox talk, tailgate talk
Jumper – parrot stand, solo holder, squeegee or a spring jumper, curly-q
Lag Screw – hardhead
Lateral Tap – spur, lateral, tap, primary tap, runoff
Live Line Clamp – hot line clamp, tap clamp
Messenger cable – Strand
Minimum Approach Limit – absolute limit of approach
Operating Drawing – one line drawing, single line drawing, operating map
Outriggers – stiff legs, stabilizers
Plastic Protective Cover – rigid coverup, Tupperware, hardcover, barrier, taco
Pole – stick
Pole Down Ground – vertical
Pole Platform – diving board, backer board, insulated pole platform, live line board, hot board
Pole Top Pin – lead head, bayonet, ridge pin
Potential Tester – jiggler, wiggle, pot tester,P.I.-Potential Indicator
Portable Trailer Transformer – Hog Wagon
Powerline Worker – lineman, lineperson, lineworker, line installer/repairer, linehand, powerline maintainer, line mechanic, powerlineman, power line technician, distribution line technician, line techs, powerline repairer, clum sum, electrical linepersons overhead lineworker, electrical lineworker, powerliner, GIB (guy in bucket), Scratch and Sniff crew (outage response crew) hiker; line servicer, bucket monkey, pole jock, pole cowboy, skywalker, overpaid bucket monkey’s, hi-liner, hi-line tech, static head
Preform Grip – stringing sock, sugar grip, flexible mesh pulling grip, horse cock, sock line, Kellum grip, Chinese string, dog cock
Preform Thimble – horse collar, #1744, pig ear
Primary Step-down Transformer – ratio transformer, rabbit
Pull Rope – stringing rope, bull line, pulling line, pulling rope, hard line
Pullup grip – Jaw grip, wire grip, bulldog, cum-a-long, Chicago grip, pork chop, widow, dutchman jaw clamp, wire clamp
Quick Sleeve – pickle
Reel Handler – Coca-cola (the reel thing), Finigan Pin
Rest Break – Skippy
Rope Ladder – Jacob’s ladder, flex ladder
Rubber Blankets – rubber covers
Rubber Dead End Cover – pig
Rubber Hose – line hose, hose, rubber, flexible protective equipment, eel, guts, reptile, snakes, rubber covers, coverup, slinky
Rubber Gloves – condoms
Rubber Sleeves – arm rubber
Secondary Cables – triplex, cribbing, pigtails
Secondary Fault – hotspot, holiday
Shield Wire – static wire, ground wire, counterpoise, sky wire
Solid Blade Switch – solid fuse, slug, bypass
Spiking Cable – spearing cable
Splice – sleeve, quick sleeve, pickle)
Spurs – hooks, climbers, westerns, lady slippers, skyhooks, hikers, gaffs, money makers, mortgage lifters, jumpers, jojos, leg irons,
Strain Insulator – dead-end insulator, suspension insulator, bell insulator, elephant ear, fish, four and a quarter, poly link
Stringing Block – traveler, dolly, roller, stringing sheave.
Surge generator – Thumper, impulse generator, capacitive discharge set, banger
Switch Stick – disconnect switch, hook stick, P2 Head, window pole
Switching – Arcing and Barking (closing in on fault)
Switching Order Form – Order-to-Operate, Operation Order,
Swivel Stick – chicken catcher (2-inch ring on the end of switch stick used to install preformed tie on a top tie or side tie)
Tag Out (Do Not Operate Tag) – Do Not Connect Tag, Do Not Energize Tag, Keep Your Hands Off Tag, Hold Tag, Locked Out Tag, My Life Is On the Line Tag, Do Not Reclose Tag – Hold Off Tag, Stand Off Tag, Hold Tag, Hot-Line-Hold (HLH)
Tag – card
Teasing – fuzzing, buzzing
Terminator – Pot Head, riser, stinger, lead, primary lead, sweep, siphon
Top Tie Insulator – bottle, chili bowl, post
Transformer – pot, can, trans, kettle, bug, stepper, tanks, tubs, tx
Vault – manhole, chamber, cable chamber, maintenance hole
Vibration Damper – dog bone, johnny ball
Working Load Limit (WLL) – rated capacity, maximum working load, safe working load, safety ratio
Worksite Protection – traffic control