# Words that have a different meaning in your profession than generally **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865 "2021-02-13T23:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/21 "2021-02-14T16:53:21Z")
In my trade “tenths” are ten thousandths of an inch. .1 is one hundred thou. .0001 is a tenth. And “thru” is a perfectly acceptable spelling for a hole that is all the way through something. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/22 "2021-02-14T17:22:17Z")
In astronomy, “metal” means any element other than hydrogen and helium. In heat transfer, “heat” doesn’t mean thermal energy unless it is actually moving from one place to another. But I think people don’t really stick to this fussy definition in practice. In statistics, “significant” means unlikely to have arisen simply from randomness, and doesn’t assert anything about importance. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/23 "2021-02-14T17:33:57Z")
Software engineering has a bunch. daemon - a background program, not a malevolent supernatural being. showstopper - a bug so serious that it prevents releasing the product, not a part of a performance that gets a long ovation. atomic - a sequence of operations that cannot be interrupted, nothing to do with chemistry or physics. bang - an exclamation point, not a noise. cripple - to deliberately degrade the functionality of a piece of software, not to seriously injure a person. flag - a boolean variable, not a piece of cloth with an emblem printed on it. pointer - a variable that contains the address of another variable, not a physical thing with an arrow on it. page - a fixed-size section of memory, not a piece of paper in a book. tarball - one or more files packaged into a single file by the _tar_ program, not a sticky mass of petroleum extract. brick - a piece of hardware that has been rendered nonfunctional by faulty software, not a masonry block. salt - a bit of random data added to encrypted data to make certain types of attacks more difficult, not sodium chloride. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/24 "2021-02-14T17:39:01Z")
I’ve heard both. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/25 "2021-02-14T17:53:13Z")
Not my profession but…anaesthetists. For reasons that would take too long to explain, I spent a few months being regularly anaesthetised. I got relaxed about the process, got to know the guys - would just chat with them before going under. They told me a beaut of a story - about how several of them had been chatting in the canteen one day about cabbages. They were overheard and, as a surprise consequence of this, hauled in to HR to explain themselves. An understandable error - [see dictionary definition #2](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cabbage). They were presumed to be discussing, in the most callous of terms, people who had been brain injured during anaesthesia. They were actually talking about Coronary Artery Bypass Graft patients. j ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/26 "2021-02-14T17:57:26Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@BrickBat](#): > > > > With all due disrespect for the media: Nobody, but nobody but N-O-B-O-D-Y on the inside ever ever refers, or has referred to any part of the parking/taxiing part of an airport as “the tarmac”. > > What do you call it? The runways are called “runways”. The taxi paths are called “taxiways”. The broad concrete areas near terminals where aircraft are parked are called “ramps” or “the ramp” or “the ramp area” in the US. Many other countries use the same terms or substitute “apron” for “ramp”. The term “tarmac” is nowhere in use now. Back in the 1930s or so it referred to the small paved parking area in front of the terminal building at what was otherwise a mostly grass-, dirt-, and sometimes mud-covered landing field. “Tarmac” is actually a short form of “tarmacadam” which in modern US parlance is called “asphalt”. It’s a paving material, not a place. But you can see how the place originally got named for the material it was made from. The folly is the obsolete term still being universally used 70 years after it became obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/27 "2021-02-14T19:07:58Z")
Is “chain” used in surveying really different". It is a measuring device comprised of 100 links. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/28 "2021-02-14T19:10:39Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > What do you call it? A ramp, hardstand or less commonly ( anymore ) an apron. Everything else is either a taxiway or runway. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/29 "2021-02-14T19:11:53Z")
As a generalist EE, some of my work is on **microwave** systems. When I mention this to people, the first thing that (usually) comes to their mind is a _microwave oven_. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/30 "2021-02-14T19:12:49Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > In my trade “tenths” are ten thousandths of an inch. .1 is one hundred thou. .0001 is a tenth. Yep. Thousandths are the perfect measurement for machining. The metric system has nothing close. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/31 "2021-02-14T19:29:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The term “tarmac” is nowhere in use now. Back in the 1930s or so it referred to the small paved parking area in front of the terminal building at what was otherwise a mostly grass-, dirt-, and sometimes mud-covered landing field. > > “Tarmac” is actually a short form of “tarmacadam” which in modern US parlance is called “asphalt”. It’s a paving material, not a place. But you can see how the place originally got named for the material it was made from. The folly is the obsolete term still being universally used 70 years after it became obsolete. Interesting, thanks for the explanation. This is just one of the pieces I’ve seen showing the cluelessness and overhyping by the news media: [What The Media Gets Wrong About Aviation and Air Travel on The News - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDOBN0r3ydA) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/32 "2021-02-14T19:31:38Z")
Huh? If they’re the perfect measurement why do you have to use fractions of them? Isn’t it simpler to talk about 10 µm rather than 4 tenths of a thousandth of an inch? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/33 "2021-02-14T20:18:32Z")
In special education, “elope” has nothing to do with marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/34 "2021-02-14T21:29:23Z")
“History” is less “what happened in the past” and more “what historians have said about the past.” Assistant professors are not assistants to the professor. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/35 "2021-02-14T21:39:01Z")
Many of the terms mentioned above are related to the common use, just somewhat specialized usage. But mathematicians use common terms all over the place that have no discernible to their ordinary meanings: group, ring, field, category, triple, monad, commute,… ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/36 "2021-02-14T22:50:54Z")
Lawyers don’t reset hearings; they get them “continued”. If a lawyer tells you they need to continue the meeting you have set for next week, it means they want to pick a new date. Also, at least in Florida, the filing of criminal charges is called an Information (unless it’s an indictment handed down by a grand jury). So a dismissal of a criminal case, before charges are filed, occurs with the filing of a No Information, meaning “No Info” is a verb, and you might here lawyers saying things like, “The state finally No Info’d that bullshit battery arrest.” ETA: Thought of another one. People with persistent criminal behavior often talk about new arrests as “catching a case”. A drug addict might “catch a case” while on probation, the way you or I might pick up a cold. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/37 "2021-02-14T22:53:08Z")
For computer programmers, “taking a dump” is something you can discuss in polite company. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/38 "2021-02-14T23:14:22Z")
Or in supported living, what kids in special ed. go on to live in as adults. There are also a few words that sound like other words, but aren’t quite intuitive. One is “stim,” and the other is “perseverate.” Stim can be a noun or a verb, and it is anything that autistic people use to deal with stress; it could be hand-flapping, or more complex things-- I knew someone once who solved, mucked up and re-solved a Rubik’s cube over and over when she needed something. Perseverate can mean to persist in a stim, or some other thing long after the need has passed. It might mean, for example, someone who won’t get up from the table after a meal is finished, or won’t get up from the toilet after being done using it for its purpose. It could also mean someone who hand-flaps when there’s a loud noise, and then persists in the flapping after the noise is over. “Behavior” is my favorite, though. You might describe someone as having “No behaviors.” This means the person doesn’t throw things, hit, or pinch when told “No,” doesn’t undress in public, or urinate where she’s standing when she doesn’t get her way. Doesn’t refuse food, or perseverate on a particular food, all day, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/39 "2021-02-14T23:53:07Z")
Some terms wander from technical use to common use. “An emotionally-charged situation” gets the “charged” part from physics - but the metaphoric meaning is so well-understood that it isn’t often recognized as a metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/40 "2021-02-14T23:54:54Z")
And in mental health. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865.md?page=3)