Lineman Slang, Lingo & Dictionary Terms Used in the Utililty Trade

There are many terms for the work methods and tools being used for Powerline work. Some regional terms used by linemen on discussion groups are not understood by all of us. This list is intended to become the complete "dictionary" of all the "expletive deleted" terms used by linemen.

If you use a term not listed below, click here to ADD IT to this list:

• 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, squeek, chump, JAFO (just another #$% observer) dipstick, no class, whistle-pig
• Auxiliary Arm - lay out arms, hot arm
• Backfeed - {Live secondary, because of generator, jumpered bus break, extension cord form neighbor's house feeding back through transformer and energizing primary}.
• Bolt Cutter - Pie Knife
• Bracket Grounding - Box groundin
• Bull Wheel - butterfly
• By-Pass - shoo-fly, a temporary line by-passing the main line to allow dead line work on the main line.
• Cant Hook - gut wrench, hook ,peavy
• Capstan Hoist - cat head
• Chain Hoist - guy jack, coffin hoist, strong arm
• Chain Saw - sander, gas axe
• Clamping in - clipping in, tying in
• Clearance (for work) - work permit, lockout/tagout protection, 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.
• 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)
• Drill - brace & bit, saw dust pump
• Elbows (Load Break and Non Load Break) - pistol grips
• Electrician (indoor) - narrowback
• Energize - light, light up, liven up, power up, going hot, heat it up
• ESR Footwear (shock resistant footwear) - DP (Dielectric Protective Footwear), Electrical Resistant Footwear, F.R. clothing
• Extension Link - dillibob (Uually 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, epoxillator) ,donkey-dick
• 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, widow maker,
• Hog Wagon - a temporary transformer (enclosed in a small trailer with reusable leads)
• Hot Pole - a pole where the insulators breaking down or cutout is leaking though the post to the bracket causing the pole to be energized.
• Jaw Grip - wire grip, bulldog, cum-a-long, chicago grip, pork chop, widow, dutchman
jaw clamp, wire clamp,
• Job Briefing - tailboard conference, tailboard briefing, toolbox talk, tailgate talk
• Jumper - {One man jumper holder- parrot stand, solo holder} {Squeegee or a spring jumper, curly-q, its a piece of wire wrapped up like a coil with a hot line clamp at either end to make a quick jumper for bypassing a tap, also used on either a transformer or a cutout, although design engineers do not like it.}
• Lag Screw - hardhead
• Lateral Tap - spur, lateral, tap, primary tap, run off
• LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) - LFL (Lower Flammable Limit)
• Live Line Clamp - hot line clamp, tap clamp
• Minimum Approach Limit - absolute limit of approach, {Breaking clearance" especially on transmission work, getting too close to danger}
• Operating Drawing - one line drawing, single line drawing, operating map
• Outriggers - stiff legs, stabilisers
• Plastic Coverup - rigid coverup, tupperware, hard cover, barriers
• Pole - stick
• Pole Down Ground - vertical,
• Pole Platform - diving board, baker board, insulated pole platform, live line board, hot board
• Pole Top Pin - lead head, bayonet
• Pot Head - riser, terminators
• Pole Shock - electric shock from a hot pole.
• PoleTop Pin - ridge pinPotential Tester - jiggler, wiggle, pot tester,P.I.-Potential Indicator
• 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, {Supervisor's versions - coffee drinkin', knuckle draggin', over paid bucket monkey's}
• Powerline Worker, Transmission - 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
• Quick Sleeve - pickle
• Pull Rope - stringing rope, bull line, pulling line, pulling rope, hard line
• Primary Step - down Transformer - ratio transformer, rabbit
• Reel Handler - Coca-cola (the reel thing), Finigan Pin
• Rest Break - Skippy
• Rigging Terms - toolblocked (can't take anymore on your rigging, have to rerig, should have thought of that before you rigged), blanket sling (tarp for setting poles)
• Riser - stinger, lead, primary lead, sweep, siphon
• Riser Pole - terminal pole, transition pole, dip pole, dig pole
• Rope Ladder - jacob's ladder, flex ladder
• Rubber Blankets - rubber covers
• Rubber Dead End Cover - pig
• Rubber Hood - insulator cover
• 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, {cutting sections is called cribbing, splitting the crib, or pigtailing the ends, or cut back}
• Secondary Fault - hotspot, holiday
• Shield Wire - static wire, ground wire, counterpoise, sky wire
• Shotgun - grip-all, clamp stick, grab-all, egg sucker
• Sleeve - splice, (quick sleeve - pickle)
• Solid Blade Switch - solid fuse, slug, bypass
• Spiking Cable - spearing cable
• Spun Bus - Wrapped Secundary, aerial cable
• Spurs - hooks, climbers, westerns, lady slippers, sky hooks, 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,
• Strand - messenger cable
• Stringing Block - traveler, dolly, roller, stringing sheave.
• 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 end of switch stick used to install preformed tie on top tie or side tie)
• Tacos - plastic protective cover
• Teasing - fuzzing, buzzing
• Thumper - surge generator, impulse generator, capacitive discharge set, banger
• Tag - card
• 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