Business People look for “Organic Growth,” Wall Street can be “Bullish,” Sales people have to fill their “Hoppers,” and texting teens are like “OMG.” So many things in life are like the proverbial inside joke — if you’re standing on the outside looking in you may see everyone laughing, but you have no idea what the joke is.

The construction industry is no different. We have our own lingo, just like someone in the pit on Wall Street, doctors in an operating room or cops on the beat. While every day you face something different as a tradesman, all of us have faced similar situations. More than that, being a tradesman shapes you in a way that’s unique. How are tradesman different from all the rest? Like Jeff Foxworthy’s famous routine, here are a few examples that people in the trades will appreciate — examples that might make you nod your head as you read them.

You might be a tradesman if:

  • You instinctively hide when you see someone wearing a white hard hat.
  • You know a “star drill” is not use it in a drill, it’s hit with a hammer.
  • You can name 15 different types of hammers, and their uses.
  • You know that a “Ditch Witch” is a machine, not a monster.
  • You can identify what trade a person’s in by the color of their hard hat.
  • You’re aware that a plumber uses a torch to “sweat” a joint.
  • You view conduit bending as an art form.
  • You know that a carpenter uses a saw to “cope” a joint.
  • You realize a “Hole Hog” is not a farm animal.
  • You know that “hack saws” are okay, but “hack jobs” are not.
  • You use electrical tape as a bandage.

Read more about trades-related topics on The SmartVan

ABOUT Patrick Peterson

Avatar photoPatrick Peterson of ZenHVAC has seen the HVAC industry from all angles, serving as a technician, manufacturer’s tech rep, salesman, technical trainer and business owner.