My father is an electrician and over the years I've picked up on much of the jargon that electrician's use. The words in this vocabulary might baffle you, but are used daily by electricians all over the United States:

Phrase	Meaning
11B box	A 4 ¹¹/₁₆″ square junction box.
1900 box	A 4″ square junction box.
8B	An eight-sided junction box.
armor-clad	Armored cable that comes preloaded with conductors. This type of cable has a reputation for being unsafe.
anti-dog	A bubble level that attaches to the end of a pipe.
back stabber	A person that uses the "quick-connect" slots in the back of a duplex outlet to install wires instead of the screw terminals on the side. Such a person is said to be lazy; it saves a few seconds, but derates the outlet to only 15 amps. Bob Vila has a nice picture illustrating the difference.
ballast	Electrical current regulator on fluorescent lamps. If you ever hear an annoying buzzing sound from your office lights, then it most likely has a bad ballast.
BX	Armored cable. See: armor-clad
dikes	Angled diagonal cutting pliers. The name comes from the “diagonal” part of the name.
fish tape	A spool of spring steel that is used to pull wires through inaccessible areas such as walls.
hog head	A large die on a pipe threader
homerun	Wire that goes directly to the service panel.
horse cock	Explosion proof flexible conduit.
J-box	Electrical junction box. Usually conduit is secured to the sides and wire splices are made inside.
raceway	Basket tray where cables are placed to ease the installation of maintenance of cabling.
pony	A drive motor for a pipe threader (see: hog head)
romex	A brand-name used as a generic term for non-metallic sheathed wire (NM-B).
scotch lock	Twist wire connector. Name originally borrowed from the 3M^TM Scotchlok^TM brand.

Electrician Jargon