Abbreviations

[JAParticipant @ja]

In English shall and will have different meanings. Many contracts define these because of the lack of knowledge of the language among its first language users (including me).

JA

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

It’s easy to remember the distinction, JA, if you think of the biblical

“Thou Shalt … “

MichaelG.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

For a glimpse of the horrific scale of abbreviations, etc. try the NHS

https://www.abpi.org.uk/media/xnjbwwlb/abpi-cymru-wales-jargon-buster-july-2023.pdf

MichaelG.

.

Edit: — That’s only the tip of the iceberg

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

What no X or Z Michael how disappointing!

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Government organisations seem to like them. European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) (Yes I know it should be EUASA but that’s wht they say see top of https://www.easa.europa.eu/en)  and MOD are bad. Service enquires are full of TLAs and FLAs

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/service-inquiry-si

Some are interesting from an engineering view remembering of course that they resulted from a fatal incident.
This one https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/service-inquiry-report-into-the-challenger-2-incident-at-castlemartin-ranges-pembrokeshire-on-14-june-2017
does make you think how it could happen (80 acronyms in the glossary).

Robert.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

As a slight digression … Have a look at this amazing piece of work:

https://thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/jargon-buster/

MichaelG.

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

No doubt a lot of the common abbreviations used here would be unfamiliar and sometimes confusing to anyone first starting out. I can still remember they were for myself. Mostly I think there just a short form of typing it out, [H.S.S.] or High Speed Steel would be a common one. If I were talking with someone, I’d more likely just say High Speed Steel instead of using it’s common abbreviation.

Books related to machining do much the same. George Thomas for example used them often, but did include a glossary of the terms in the back of his books. A bit of a pita☺ and some abbreviations in the UK aren’t common in North America. [SS] [GM] for Silver Steel and Gunmetal as examples. I don’t think that [S.S.] or [G.M.] is ever used here. His use of [L.A.] for Aluminum Alloy was one I definitely had to check his glossary for. So having a glossary of terms for the UK forum members here might also require what they mean elsewhere? Every industry, craft or hobby has the same I suppose. It’s just learning and then remembering what those abbreviations mean. Even using the same basic English between the UK and say North America, there’s non abbreviated terms in use that aren’t used elsewhere. Spanner for you / wrench for us, exact same thing but different word.

Now terms like using digi-verns by some while meaning digital calipers might be a bit over the top since vernier calipers are quite different than the digital models. Their both calipers and make the same type of measurements, but quite obviously different in how it’s accomplished. And while technically correct over 100 years ago, using the word Jib today that some seem to still do instead of Gib, might definitely be confusing to those just starting out. Possibly I’m being pedantic to some, or maybe to others I’m not?

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Doesn’t explain who or what the UK is !

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

🙂 A valid point.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, well I’ve never understood why the BS1363 is often referred to being a square pin plug, as all the pins are rectangular in shape, and are set out in a triangular formation. You wouldn’t expect to get a piece of square bar if you ordered a piece of rectangular bar, or get a piece of rectangular bar if you ordered a square bar.

Regards Nick.

[Charles LamontParticipant @charleslamont71117]

It is easier to say ‘square’, one syllable,  than ‘rectangular’, four.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Depends on how you are using the word “square” We often use a tri-square to check if a corner or two parts are “square” yet we are really only checking that they are at 90deg. So you could say that a square pin plug has right angled corners to all the pins “square” to each other..

Or just call it a 3-Pin Plug😀

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi JasonB, both square and rectangle sections have four square angles, but the angles don’t define their shape, and although a tri-square has two rectangular sections, the overall shape is an L, and have at least 18 right angles within it.

Regards Nick.

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

Then there’s the three-square file…

George

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

On a computer course with a Norwegian (who spoke better English than me), he asked about British square 3-pin plugs.  I launched into a basic description of safety earthing only to find him smiling at me!    Emergency stop!  He was a professional Electrical Engineer with PhD who was learning to program in C to help his job, whilst my Software Engineering job required me to learn a new language for a security application.  I knew about earths in a basic way because dad was an electrical engineer and I’m a keen radio ham.

He was probably hoping to have the idea of a plug mounted fuse explained.

[vintagengineerParticipant @vintagengineer]

We always used to write MT on empty gas bottles.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

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