Featured Terms
Electrical Slang
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.
Baffled by a term you just overheard?
Type it in the search box at the top and flip the switch!
2/4/2023
Converts single receptacle opening to 3 openings in a wide brick shaped device
2/4/2023
Family of stickers that say "danger high voltage" in a variety of styles/sizes.
2/4/2023
Invented by hardware store owner William H. Rubely in the late 1800's and initially called the "Tuckahoe Toggle Bolt" , the toggle bolt has been used whenever you need to mount something to a non-structural, hollow, thin wall where a screw would simply pull right out. A toggle bolt has wings like a butterfly that fold closed against an internal spring to be inserted into the wall. Once through the wall, it snaps open and provides a secure are wide surface area to fasten an object to the wall using the attached a threaded screw. You'd see it used in sheetrock or wood applications holding a fire alarm box, a speaker to ceiling tile, a bulletin board, etc. When the screw is removed, the wing simply drops behind the wall to the floor below and is abandoned.
2/4/2023
This octagon box often gets confused with the mud rings or mud boxes because it has the same shape and bottom studs, but it is for a hung ceiling and doesn't get buried by the concrete. The fixture bars that support it are wired into the lathers channel.
2/4/2023
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 'Fixture Bar').
2/4/2023
This electrical box is usually called a 1900 Box because that was the original part number from Bossert almost a hundred years ago. It is the most common box used when a simple SwitchBox is not large enough. The part number shown below is only one of many configurations and you need to ask for the size of the knockout (determined by the conduit size) and if the user wants a small (1-1/4"), a standard (1-1/2") or a deep (2 1/8") box. The user also has to specify how it will be mounted: stud ears, etc.
"Put a 1900 Box at the end of the run and install a duplex RS cover."
2/4/2023
Used to support nonmetallic sheathed cable (RX) or MC/AC cable on wood or metal studs. Available in 4 styles for Wood, Metal Stud or Furring Strip/Hat Channel. Used to get compliance with NEC for Metal Stud Use.
Use a CJ to support that MC cable.
