# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/101 "2021-02-19T06:19:12Z")
I’m not really an RF engineer, but for some reason I was looking at the datasheet for a tuner chip and discovered the term “local oscillator leakage”, which throughout the document was abbreviated “LOL”. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/102 "2021-02-20T18:40:13Z")
Still a lot of old fashioned shoplifting on. Also with self checkouts and self scan apps, customers can “accidentally” slip an item or two into their bags. Employee theft and vendor fraud is still going strong, often a combination where a lazy or compromised employee records the receipt of more product than was physically delivered. We’ve had cases of soda and chip vendors “shorting” thousands of dollars or merchandise a month in a single store. Video surveillance, bag scales, cash register activity analytics and other intelligent systems have reduced some forms of theft. But reduction in the number of “front end” employees has had the opposite effect. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/103 "2021-02-21T00:17:37Z")
Any weightlifters in here? You could tell us about snatches and clean jerks. ---
**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 21, 2021, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/104 "2021-02-21T12:56:30Z")
They also curl differently from the folks sweeping ice rinks with brooms while wearing slippery shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/105 "2021-02-22T00:03:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > … the folks sweeping ice rinks with brooms while wearing slippery shoes Only one slippery shoe. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/106 "2021-02-22T00:47:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > folks sweeping ice rinks with brooms Are they vector operators? Only if they’ve been to college. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/107 "2021-02-22T03:32:19Z")
A [SQUID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID) is not a [squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid) is not a [squid](https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-term-squids-for-US-Navy-sailors-originate). And in the world of fundamental particles, up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom take on new meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/108 "2021-02-22T15:34:11Z")
When pathologists refer to swiss cheese, bread and butter, chicken fat and spaghetti and meatballs, they’re not describing the menu for the upcoming buffet. > **[Food eponyms in Pathology](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5620790/)** > > Pathology is an interesting and often challenging field. In many instances, Pathologists often hunt for clues to arrive at the diagnosis, in dark with a single beam of light. To make this tedious task more acceptable and more convenient, pathological... ---
**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 23, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/109 "2021-02-23T01:14:48Z")
As is so often the case with your specialty there @Jackmannii, you’ve won the thread! “Strawberry cervix” indeed. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/110 "2021-02-23T01:30:58Z")
One of the primary building permits in the city I do a very healthy amount of engineering work in is an “Erection Permit” - the permit to put up a new building (as opposed to an Alteration permit for a renovation or an addition). No matter how many times I have to write an erection number (thankfully abbreviated as an “ERT”) on a document, the 12-year-old in me can’t help but snicker. ---
**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 23, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/111 "2021-02-23T02:42:37Z")
It’s even worse when they deny you that erection permission you _need_ so badly. Sorta the civic equivalent of the Evil Dominatrix. Probably equally expensive too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/112 "2021-02-23T03:06:04Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > A [SQUID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID) is not a [squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid) is not a [squid](https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-term-squids-for-US-Navy-sailors-originate). In the motorcycle world, a squid is a young rider on a very hot sportbike that he does not have the skills and experience to ride well. He is often wearing a $700 helmet with shorts and a t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/113 "2021-02-23T07:46:20Z")
In dentistry, a flipper is not someone who buys a house to improve and resell it at a higher price; nor is it a swim fin, a sea creature’s fin, or part of a pinball machine. It is a partial denture, often (but not always) consisting of a single tooth. When electricians speak of redheads, they’re not referring to red-haired people, but to the red plastic bushings inserted at the tips of steel jacketed cable (redheads protect the protruding insulated wires from fraying against the sharp edges of the cut steel jacket). ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/114 "2021-02-25T15:15:59Z")
In the container transport industry, refrigerated containers are called reefers. Whoa! Reefer volume was way up this month. Groovy. ---
**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 25, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/115 "2021-02-25T17:12:11Z")
“cab-over Pete with a Reefer on and a Jimmy hauling hogs” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Sd5ZLJWQmss/hqdefault.jpg "C.W. McCall - Convoy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5ZLJWQmss) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/116 "2021-02-25T17:12:20Z")
Neck specialists and gynecologists use the term “cervical” quite differently. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/117 "2021-02-25T17:15:48Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > In the container transport industry, refrigerated containers are called reefers. > > Whoa! Reefer volume was way up this month. > > Groovy. [![](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/unknown-prints-works-on-paper-cheech-and-chongs-nice-dreams-original-american-lobby-card-of-movie-usa-1981-for-sale/a_1322/1536159954575/DSC_0136_NiceDreams_master.JPG) ](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/unknown-prints-works-on-paper-cheech-and-chongs-nice-dreams-original-american-lobby-card-of-movie-usa-1981-for-sale/a_1322/1536159954575/DSC_0136_NiceDreams_master.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865/118 "2021-02-25T17:21:50Z")
I’m a psychiatrist. Colloquially, many people use the word “antisocial” to mean asocial, meaning just preferring or choosing for whatever reason to spend most of one’s time alone, not participating in social interactions. But in psychiatry and psychology, “antisocial” connotes active antagonism toward other people, often aggressively so–people with antisocial personality disorder often become criminals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-have-a-different-meaning-in-your-profession-than-generally/932865.md?page=5)