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.
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9/15/2026
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').
9/15/2026
There are two types of hand operated benders: hickeys and hand benders (or one-shot benders). While both are usually iron, hand benders are also offered in aluminum. The real difference between them is the size of the head. Hickeys are 60% smaller then benders allowing the user to make very tight bends close together. As a rule of thumb, you would use a hand bender the majority of the time and save the hickey for when you have to make a number of very tight bends that a hand bender simply couldn’t do. Hand benders, however, have the advantage in that they have degree scales and bending indicators etched on the side to aid in the bending process. The One-Shot bender got its' name because you can make a 90 degree bend with a single motion.
9/15/2026
This has been known since the turn of the century as the AT&T standard strand clamp or guy clamp. It is made from hot dipped galvanized rolled steel and will hold any size guy strand from 1/4" to 1/2" diameter.
9/15/2026
Described as floor plate plug inserts, these threaded plugs seal-up an unused device opening in a floor box plate. You order them in sizes from 1/2" to 2".
9/15/2026
The swivel acts like a circuit breaker to disengage the pulling rope from the wire when a certain pulling tension is exceeded. It does it by using break-away pins in the swivel that come in ratings from 200 to 1000 pounds. To change the break-away setting, you just change the pin.
9/15/2026
Nylon or Zinc self-drilling anchor used for #8 x 1" screws into sheetrock, (see also 'Sure Wall').
