Featured Terms
What do a "bug" and a "cherry" have in common?
They are both electrical slang terms!
Curious about what these and other slang terms mean?
Scroll through our collection of slang terminology used in the electrical industry!
Whether you are an electrician, contractor, or just someone trying to understand what your local electrician is jabbering about, use the glossary to learn trade slang and electrical jargon.
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Holds gem box in sheetrock by offering counter pressure to the box ears.
An adaptor used to affix a lighting fixture directly to an electric box when the fixture and electrical box mounting holes do not line up, ( see also 'Crossbar Hanger').
Connects two pieces of threaded rigid conduit when one piece can't be turned. Comes in aluminum, steel, malleable iron and zinc/die-cast construction in sizes from 1/2" to 5" If the same thing needs to be done for non-threaded pipe, you would use a threadless compression coupling.
When fishing tape, it is often beneficial to have the fish tip be flexible to get around sharp bends or ridges created at fitting junctions. The tape leader looks like a tightly coiled spring with an attachment at one end to hold the fish line and a screw at the other to attach to the fish.
When you absolutely don't want your beam clamp to have the chance to slip off the beam, one of the two adjustable style beam clamps is the one to use. The standard style (E-160) has a fixed bottom where the threaded rod is attached and the swivel (E-165) lets the threaded rod adjust left and right. To use these clamps on an I-beam, the flange can't exceed .8" and the hook rod which comes in sizes 6, 9 or 12" must reach.
Nails to wood stud where cable passes through to protect wire & plumbing pipe from nails driven into the wall sometime in the future, (see also 'Stud Plate'; 'Safety Plate'; 'Cable Protector').