What are the most unusual alternate/slang tool names you have heard or used?

You got chop saw, chanelllocks, speed square, skill saw, and sawzall to name a few common ones, but has anyone heard or used an alternate/slang name for a tool that is uncommon?

One I have heard is someone called a string trimmer a whirl whip. This is not common in USA but apparently it might be more common in other countries? Another one that I heard the guys I worked with use was they would call the oscillating multitool a rockwell. Also they would call all finishes varnish regardless of if the product name had varnish in it or not.

Good point! I remember I was watching a Turkish video on YouTube and a lady called a demolition hammer “Hilti” This is mostly because that brand was the first introducer of that specific tool to that country. Even in UK when you search online it can be called in different ways such as concrete breaker, breaker, demolition hammer, demolition breaker, and the tool industry does not have a common ground how to name it and interestingly in UK among the construction workers it is called “Kango” and it makes me think that it was probably the first brand to introduce this type of tool to UK market. 

 

I can give another example, as I am originally Turkish from Iran (we speak a different dialect of Turkish which I call it Cockney Turkish looool) (Cockney is an English accent in UK which Londoners treat it as less developed accent of English), in Iran all ethnic groups call adjustable wrench as “French wrench” and as much as I have understood from Turkish videos they call it “English wrench” 

 

Persians call the Mitersaw as “Persian cutter/saw” and I always make fun of them, it is like they have invented this tool for the first time and introduced it to the West, oh come on! loool for me it is enough to call it Turkish saw to piss them off!

 

I can also give you examples not related to tools, in Iran jeans are called Lee trousers as again Lee was the first brand of jeans introduced to Iran, and it is a bit weird to say Levis jeans as you gonna call it levis Lee trousers. The Turks from Turkey call it Kot trousers (I think Kot is the Turkified and shortened version of cotton) and I wonder how they are going to call jeans that are less than 50% cotton?!!! 

 

Another funny example is the bird “Turkey”. As much as I remember the origin of this bird is Mexico, it was introduced by the Portuguese to India first and then from India to Turkey and Russia and these two countries call this bird “Indian” (Hindi in Turkish and Hindushka in Russian) then this Indian? was introduced to Europe and US accordingly by the Turks and they called it “Turkey” and I don’t understand why this bird had to travel from your neighbouring country Mexico all around the world from Mexico to India then to Turkey and then to you and why not directly to US?! Probably it would be called “Mexico” now loool