Tradesman Slang From Around The World

No matter your trade, you’re sure to enjoy a sense of fond camaraderie with those in your field. As well as understanding each other’s immense pride in your work, you’ll also quickly bond over in-jokes, funny stories and shared experiences.

This jovial spirit is something tradesmen are renowned for, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the community has strengthened its connections by creating plenty of its own trade-specific slang over the years. Not only a popular phenomenon here in the UK, tradesmen and women around the world are also bouncing unique, new words off their workmates.

So, if you fancy sprucing up your day-to-day vocab, check out these top tradesman slang terms from across the globe.

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Australian tradesman slang and nicknames

The Aussies have a dictionary of their own, and even the word tradesman itself has a slang equivalent.

Trady — a tradesman Example: “Why don’t we have the other tradies over, and have a shrimp on the barbie this weekend?!”

Sparky — an electrician
Example: “Oye mate, why don’t we just hire another sparky, as we’re getting a lot of business these days?”

Bricky — a bricklayer / builder Example: “G’day mate, it’s finally good to see the bricky done. We can begin foundations before going off to the beach to play some volleyball.”

Dunny diver — a plumber Example: “The toilet’s clogged up again. Better call the dunny diver to sort it out.”

Chippy — a carpenter Example: “The chippy did a ripper job on those cabinets, mate. They look bonza!”

And yes, as you may have noticed, a lot of the words end in the y-syllable which makes the profession-related slang seem cool in typical Australian fashion.

American trade nicknames and slang

American tradesman slang is fun and light-hearted, with words like ‘labrador’ meaning ‘labourer’. And let’s not forget ‘swamper’ — a contractor on pipeline and related works.

Carptrician — a Carpenter who also does electrical work. Example: “By the time I finish this electrician’s course, you can darn well call me a carptrician!”

French Fry — an electrician apprentice who forgets to ground themselves. Example: “Gee, golly, I suggest you ground yourself before you begin work. You don’t want to end up a french fry!”

Muckers — a labourer working as part of the concrete team.
Example: “Let’s lay down the wiring as soon as the muckers are done with their work.”

Tin knocker — a sheet metal worker Example: “We need to get the tin knocker in to fabricate the ductwork for this HVAC system.”

Mud man — a plasterer or drywall installer Example: “The mud man is coming tomorrow to finish the drywall in the new addition.”

British tradesman slang

As inventors of the English language, Brits are constantly looking for new ways to keep conversations fresh and exciting. The tradesmen in our country are certainly no exception, and have invented plenty of words for the techniques and materials they encounter on-site.

Aggregate — A pile of sand-like material, such as building sand, coarse sand etc. Example: “Can you sweep the aggregate over after you’re done with the cuppa?”

Soldier course — Bricks that are laid vertically rather than horizontally. Example: “Lay the bricks at soldier’s course until you’ve reached the 2 metre mark.”

Skim — Final layer of plaster Example: “Once you’re done with the skim, we can finally begin the paint job.”

Sparks — an electrician Example: “Better call the sparks, the wiring in this old house is a right mess.”

Chippie — a carpenter Example: “The chippie’s done a brilliant job on that oak staircase. It’s a proper work of art, that is.”

Japanese tradesman slang

Granted, some of these slang words aren’t specific to tradesmen, but you may find them useful in different situations.

Muzui — rather difficult. Add chou for greater effect.
Example: “I’m sorry to say this, but with a budget like this, what you’re asking for is Muzui-chou.”

Zurai — sneaky or unfair. Example: “I swear by my honour, I would never even think of using zurai tactics when selling building supplies. My prices are always reasonable.”

Bimyou — not very good. Used when referring to food. Example: “This bag of chips is rather bimyou. I think we should go back to the regular fish and chip shop.”

Daiku — a carpenter Example: “The daiku did an excellent job repairing the traditional shoji screens in my ryokan.”

Denkiya — an electrician Example: “We need to call the denkiya to fix the wiring before we open the new izakaya.”

Funny Irish tradesman slang

The Irish have a long history of slang, with historians suggesting that much of it was coined by builders and stonemasons from centuries ago.

Caw-heke— To put a jinx on something, or have negative supernatural repercussions as a result of something.
Example: “You might want to knock-on-wood after saying that, laddie, you don’t want to caw -heke the whole operation.”

Balm out — Laying on the ground. Example: “We were balm out after doing 15 hours worth of foundation work. I have to thank my lucky clover we’re still alive.”

Bar of gold — Youngest, or spoiled child in the family. Example: “You were always a bar of gold, brother, but I hope you’re ready for some hard work.”

Gansey — a sweater or jumper worn by tradesmen Example: “Throw on your gansey before you head out, it’s fierce cold on the building site today.”

Jammy — lucky or fortunate Example: “That fella’s jammy, always seems to land the cushy jobs while the rest of us are grafting away.”

So, there you have it — actual tradesman slang from around the world that you can use with your mates. How do you use slang at work? If you have any favourite slang words and phrases let us know in the comments on Facebook or Twitter.

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Tradesman Saver also provides insurance for tradesmen covering a wide variety of professions. For further information on all the trades we can cover, please see our who we cover page.