Pet hate idioms used by railway enthusiasts

[PaulCheffus]

Hi

 

Banter a way to excuse verbal bullying.

 

Whats with the new phrase “on the weekend” it should be “at the weekend”. You can’t get on the weekend.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Edited June 23, 2021 by PaulCheffus

[Oldddudders]

I am bored with people who say 'bored of'. Where did that one come from?

[lanchester]

2 hours ago, APOLLO said:

My apprenticeship working for The North Western Gas Board at Wigan was "enlightening" in the least.

 

EVERYBODY (self included) had a nickname (or two), most were rude / derogatory some made you burst out laughing (or crying !!) but each had a tale behind it. On my first day back in 1969 I made a mess of brewing the district engineers tea - full of battleships (floating tea leaves). _ I won't tell you what I was called after that !!.

 

And it wasn't just workmates either, Towns, districts, streets, tools etc similarly nicknamed. "Bonk brew" being a steep hill where Joe Bonk (a supervisor) crashed his van, Hammers ranged from 't little ommer (Two and a half pound lump up to 'Kin big ommer" (Fourteen pound sledge). The list was endless, and certainly was not politically correct etc. A laugh a minute back then.

 

All such has gone in our sterile namby pamby touchy touchy society.

 

Brit15

Just wobbling even further off topic, but you did mention hammers...

 

If you are using said object to assist a component into position, in some parts of the English Midlands you 'bray' it in; elsewhere, you 'flirt' it in (despite what you might think, it doesn't appear that these denote any difference in the amount of force used). Any other regional variations out there?

[SamThomas]

6 minutes ago, lanchester said:

Just wobbling even further off topic, but you did mention hammers...

 

If you are using said object to assist a component into position, in some parts of the English Midlands you 'bray' it in; elsewhere, you 'flirt' it in (despite what you might think, it doesn't appear that these denote any difference in the amount of force used). Any other regional variations out there?

Not forgetting that the said object was often referred to as "The Birmingham Screwdriver".

[Dagworth]

Common tool names here (and one of the places I work) include Editor,  Jackdaw and Snibblers. Anyone want to suggest what those names refer to and why?

 

Andi

[Artless Bodger]

12 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Being referred to as a "boffin" was definitely offensive and derogatory. If one wishes to avoid giving offence, these terms are best avoided. However, if you want to be seen as patronising and anti-expert by all means continue.

The marketing and sales staff called our R&D scientists 'The Tefal Heads'.

[Compound2632]

12 hours ago, jcm@gwr said:

'woke'

 

I note your derogatory use of the word woke. For myself, I hope I am woke in the sense in which I understand the word: "alert to injustice in society, especially racism", and I hope you are too. As for being a snowflake, I'm afraid I have no intention of melting away. I'll stand up for respect for my fellow human beings, which includes not using derogatory and offensive terms to describe their occupations. I'm sure you wouldn't use derogatory or offensive terms to describe someone's ethnicity, nationality, or religion?

[62613]

7 hours ago, SamThomas said:

Not forgetting that the said object was often referred to as "The Birmingham Screwdriver".

Also a Twatting stick; or a Manchester spanner (or screwdriver). And of course, a slide rule was always a Guessing Stick

[Compound2632]

9 hours ago, PaulCheffus said:

Banter a way to excuse verbal bullying.

 

Quite so.

[AndyID]

9 hours ago, lanchester said:

Any other regional variations out there?

 

Around Glasgow it would be "stot" as in,

 

"Gie it a good stot with the hammer Wullie."

 

The machinists at a place where I worked liked to call a hammer a "stotometer"

[SamThomas]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

 I'm sure you wouldn't use derogatory or offensive terms to describe someone's ethnicity, nationality, or religion?

Now, I do agree with you there.

 

However, I get the impression that you have led a sheltered life &/or in a sheltered occupation. I don't think you would have lasted long in such areas as the Fire Service or HGV driving !

 

People who don't like banter carried out in a non-malicious way really do need to get a life & on the way gain a sense of humour.

[Pacific231G]

11 hours ago, PaulCheffus said:

 

Whats with the new phrase “on the weekend” it should be “at the weekend”. You can’t get on the weekend.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Hi Paul

But we say I'll see you on Sunday so it's actually a totally consistent phrase  (Not that consistency is all that common in English. I'll see you at Christmas- will you come over on Christmas day? )   As always in English, usages change and develop all the time so, if "on the weekend" becomes a commoly enough used phrase, nobody can say it's wrong. I don't particularly like "train station" but it's accepted usage now so therefore definitely not "incorrect".

Edited June 23, 2021 by Pacific231G

[Steamport Southport]

22 minutes ago, SamThomas said:

Now, I do agree with you there.

 

However, I get the impression that you have led a sheltered life &/or in a sheltered occupation. I don't think you would have lasted long in such areas as the Fire Service or HGV driving !

 

People who don't like banter carried out in a non-malicious way really do need to get a life & on the way gain a sense of humour.

 

Isn't it past bedtime?

[Bomag]

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I note your derogatory use of the word woke. For myself, I hope I am woke in the sense in which I understand the word: "alert to injustice in society, especially racism", and I hope you are too. As for being a snowflake, I'm afraid I have no intention of melting away. I'll stand up for respect for my fellow human beings, which includes not using derogatory and offensive terms to describe their occupations. I'm sure you wouldn't use derogatory or offensive terms to describe someone's ethnicity, nationality, or religion?

 

Are you sure that's the meaning of woke, from the people who have interacted with who have self identified themselves as woke it could as well be 'people who put perception of knowing and expressing current identity politics over practical knowledge of reducing exclusion for all protected characteristics.'  However, as I am Dyslexic I find people making up, or changing the meaning of word difficult. Therefore inventing and expressing 'inclusive' language can marginalise those who are supposed to be protected.

[jcm@gwr]

10 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I note your derogatory use of the word woke. For myself, I hope I am woke in the sense in which I understand the word: "alert to injustice in society, especially racism", and I hope you are too. As for being a snowflake, I'm afraid I have no intention of melting away. I'll stand up for respect for my fellow human beings, which includes not using derogatory and offensive terms to describe their occupations. I'm sure you wouldn't use derogatory or offensive terms to describe someone's ethnicity, nationality, or religion?

 

Firstly, I did not call you 'woke', I suggested that the guys I worked with would, might.

You need to read posts correctly, not read into them what you think/want to read.

 

Secondly, there are various definitions of 'woke', the most common that I know of, is

someone who tries to find something to be offended by, in normal language use, just

to be able to get sympathy, and try and put others down by their faux indignation.

 

Thirdly, I don't believe I have ever knowingly put someone down, otherwise I would find it

very difficult to do my job, I'm a self-employed plumber, constantly in and out of different

customers houses, all over north London, and all by word of mouth/recommendation.

I don't advertise, don't have business cards, van not sign-written, and I can't keep up with

amount of work coming my way (both new customers and repeat business), so I think I must

be doing something right, the worst anyone says about me is, I can be a bit too chatty!

[Barry O]

On 23/06/2021 at 08:29, Compound2632 said:

 

Being referred to as a "boffin" was definitely offensive and derogatory. If one wishes to avoid giving offence, these terms are best avoided. However, if you want to be seen as patronising and anti-expert by all means continue.

I was referred to as the Thermal Imager Boffin by some of the Army lads... no offence meant and none taken.  If they had a problem they rang me for a solution.. now that was a problem as it short circuited the official Post Design Services process.

 

Most of the "job title" names used derive form those in a similar careers.. pipe stranglers, bricks and sticks etc in the Building industry... It means that they are trained in a particular role and undertake that role.

 

Baz

 

 

[frobisher]

19 minutes ago, jcm@gwr said:

Firstly, I did not call you 'woke', I suggested that the guys I worked with would, might.

You need to read posts correctly, not read into them what you think/want to read.

 

Secondly, there are various definitions of 'woke', the most common that I know of, is

someone who tries to find something to be offended by, in normal language use, just

to be able to get sympathy, and try and put others down by their faux indignation.

 

But absolutely you weren't using 'woke' in a derogatory manner... 

[Mark Saunders]

7 hours ago, Bomag said:

 

Are you sure that's the meaning of woke, from the people who have interacted with who have self identified themselves as woke it could as well be 'people who put perception of knowing and expressing current identity politics over practical knowledge of reducing exclusion for all protected characteristics.'  However, as I am Dyslexic I find people making up, or changing the meaning of word difficult. Therefore inventing and expressing 'inclusive' language can marginalise those who are supposed to be protected.

You don’t need to be dyslexic to be confused as words change their meaning or new words of abuse for each generation creates their own!

 

 

['CHARD]

19 hours ago, Dagworth said:

Common tool names here (and one of the places I work) include Editor,  Jackdaw and Snibblers. Anyone want to suggest what those names refer to and why?

 

Andi

 

Editor, Jackdaw & Snibblers is the name of the Solicitors' Practice in PG Wodehouse's humorous paperback 'You are woke and a snowflake, Jeeves'  (Hodder and Stoughton, 1932)

[SamThomas]

12 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Isn't it past bedtime?

Only for children, snowflakes & those of a delicate nature.

[Reorte]

I can see this thread getting locked...

[Mark Saunders]

Referring to the shortened HHA, HYA and HTA as cut down; the Tiger POA/PNA converted to Doorand later MTA are genuine cut downs!

[RichardT]

"Banter" is another term to which I'd give the bum's rush.  In it's modern sense it just means "Being a tedious pr*tt making unfunny jokes but who, if someone objects to you being a tedious pr*tt, will accuse them of having no sense of humour."

 

And whether it's seen as non-malicious or not is down to the person on the receiving end, not the person dishing it out. 

 

And it's strange how often the people who are the quickest to say "snowflake" are those who are also quickest to whine when they are picked up on how they're talking about other people.  Often, they are so upset they have to quickly raise millions of pounds from their rich friends to start a whole new national TV channel so they can have a good moan about how their views are never heard...

 

Cheers,

Woke Richard 

 

[wombatofludham]

There's thread drift, and there's RMWeb thread drift.

Revenons a nos moutons.  The Welsh have some good idioms, such as "dim gobaith caneri", or "no hope like a canary", which it is believed comes from the old practice of taking a canary down the mine to detect gas.  One of my favourites, and possibly appropriate for this, is "rhoi'r ffidl yn y tô", or to put your fiddle in the attic, or to give up on something.  The Welsh version of describing someone as useless ("like a F**t in a colander") is "Fel rhech mewn pot jam" or "a f*rt in a jam pot".  Also, the Welsh version of pots and kettles is "'Tin du!’, meddai’r frân wrth yr wylan", or "Black a**e says the crow to the seagull".

There's a lot of regional idioms across the UK which really should be preserved.  The Black country was full of them - "like a gleed stuck under a door" (to make an irritating noise, especially singing), "as big as a bonk 'oss" (a large person, as big as the horse that used to work on the pit-head), or, another which might be appropriate for this forum, "gorra cob on" (to be grumpy).

Hwyl am y tro...

[Bomag]

In Yorkshire we have 'tret' as an alternative to treat e.g. I was well tret. The only thing that grates is the use of 'while' as a replacement for 'until' - wait while five instead of wait until five. Made even worse by the original wording for temp signals and level crossing 'while red light shows stop here' . We do have some really good insulting idioms but we are not allowed to use them in case they upset the ultimate snowflake who is mayor of Greater Manchester.