Throughout 2020, Focus has aimed to bring you regular blogs keeping you up to date with insightful, topical news on the construction industry on its journey through a very difficult year. But tell you what – we’ve all had a difficult year and late December is no time for seriousness. So, let’s do a quiz instead! Can you guess what these construction terms actually mean? Take your guess, click on the word and the answer will appear. Let’s go!

1. Chippy

A: It’s not the place you get your Friday night fish and chips! It actually refers to woodworkers, for example carpenters or joiners.

2. Dob and dab

A: Sounds like a kids’ TV programme, but actually means dry lining, i.e. attaching plasterboard to a wall for a smooth finish.

3. Rubber duck

A: Less of the squeaky bath toy, more of the heavy machinery – it means a wheeled excavator.

4. Sparky

A: We thought we’d put an easier one in midway – a sparky is, of course, an electrician.

5. Gobbo and muck

A: Both of these sound like the kind of dubious nicknames people give each other at secondary school, but are actually both slang for mortar.

6. Dirty money

A: Makes you think of the criminal underworld, but actually means extra money paid to workers who undertake ‘dirty’ work such as clearing sewage blockages! Not so glamorous!

7. Soldier course

A: Sounds like army training, but actually means a row of bricks laid vertically instead of horizontally – usually as decoration over windows or doors.

8. Cowboy

A: Rather than the wild wild west, this term refers to something closer to home – it means somebody who pretends they’re a skilled craftsman but actually isn’t qualified to do the work. Definitely somebody to avoid!

Construction slang really is a whole new language – how many did you get right?

That’s it from us this year at Focus. We’ll be back in 2021 with a whole host of interesting new blog content to enjoy. For now, though, we hope you enjoy a relaxed and safe Christmas with your loved ones, and a Happy New Year.