Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

Keep going..........

hydraulic tensioners that aren't hydraulic (auto tensioners for cambelts).
Harmonic balancers that don't balance (harmonic dampers).
Lifters that don't lift (OHC with finger followers).

There's plenty more.


All due to the uneducated masses.


How about "run a bearing"?

Or is it

"Spun a bearing"?

That and mis-spellings...ugh!

How about...

--"for sell" instead of "for sale"?

--"truck" instead of "trunk"?

--"Elderbrock" (or any other number of variants) instead of "Edelbrock"?

--"Holly" instead of "Holley"?

--"Weiland" instead of "Weiand"?--where did the "l" come from?--and people pronouncing it "wee-and"?--didn't their old ads actually have "Say 'why-and'" on them?

--"Vortex" instead of "Vortec"?

I grew up hearing oil "galley" so "gallery" sounds funny to me. Of course, I loathe hearing someone say they're building a "motor"! "Hey man, what motor do you got in there?" But then again, how dumb would you sound if you said you had an "enginehome" with an "enginecycle" on the back

There's a bunch of good ones listed. Sometimes made up words, (or maid up words lol) become commonplace. One that I'll never accept (or except) is the common use of "flied" out in baseball. I believe "flied" was accepted (or excepted) because announcers just kept using a non existent word. It should be "flew" out.....but my chimney has a flue. .........and way too many people around here call a chimney and chimley. Google is a company, but it's commonly used to mean "search on the internet" for something. "What time does the Sun set today?" "I don't know, I'll google it".

Some word usage is probably regional. "Ain't" is a normal part of my vocabulary but, at least when I was in School it wasn't even recognized as a work. "Y'all" is a normal part of my vocabulary too. (or to, or two)


It aggravates me when someone calls an engine a motor, or refers to cast iron heads (or block) as "steel". (or steal, or stihl) Is "Stihl" a word or just a company name.

There's "Deer" in the woods behind my house. My wife is dear to me. My mower is a John Deere. (why the e at the end???? to prevent a lawsuit from some deer?)

I get a kick out of all this stuff. My grammar, word usage, or nomenclature if far from perfect. It's OK with me if people laugh when make the wrong choice. Life's too short to not be able to laugh at ourselves.


Important to remember though. The person who proof read Hitler's speeches was truly a grammar Nazi.

I hear ya, woody. My grandma "fixes" corn for supper. "Ya'll member awallago when we fixed catfish?" My neighbor grows "d'madas" in her garden. My uncle just changed the ooooool in his Cummings and I ain't shittin' ya none now neither!

I grew up in S.E. New Mexico but was gone for 20+ years. Now that I've been back for a couple of years, I'm quite amazed.

exhaustgases wrote:The one that kills me is "Oil Galley" there is no such thing. Its a GALLERY. A galley is a kitchen on an airplane, ship, camper, or navel base.
I see modern professional publications and so many others that should know better using the improper word "galley" instead of "gallery".
I'm sorry I guess its an age thing, and the machinist in me desiring accuracy.

How about the easy one here ...?

The difference between a MOTOR and an ENGINE.

In this profession, the internet has made everyone experts and they all pick the the phrases or words they wish to use whether is has the correct definition or not.

The same thing happens in all other parts of society.

"It is better to keep silent and be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and talk to remove all doubt".

i hang out on gun forums too, and the worst has to be muzzle brake, all the tards cant get it through their skulls they dont want a muzzle break!

lefty o wrote:i hang out on gun forums too, and the worst has to be muzzle brake, all the tards cant get it through their skulls they dont want a muzzle break!

What about calling magazines "clips", and calling malfunctions "jams".

Random thoughts:

As Mark Twain said,

The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.

A smartphone isn't a word processor; rather an "intention guesstimator" and has relieved the instant gratification contingent of even a cursory responsibility to proofread before sending. Thus, there's no obligation to read or respond to gibberish; they don't care, we don't care.

If you define balance and all its meanings yes a harmonic balancer does fit. If I remember correctly even the old shop manuals call it that.

Some (neutral balance) are dampeners. Some with counterweights, are balancers; same with flywheels, flexplates, torque converters.

PackardV8 wrote: Some (neutral balance) are dampeners. Some with counterweights, are balancers; same with flywheels, flexplates, torque converters.

Yes.......

Some people don't even know that some engines are internally balanced while others are externally balanced.
Nor what the differences are.

No balance weight in it, it's not a balancer.
But it still damps the harmonics, as in the twisting of the crank.

The “experts” don’t help. “Beg the question” is a term of art describing faulty logic. Commentators heard its use by the better educated and, not knowing its meaning, butchered its use.

Autocorrect on my phone creates more automistakes than autocorrections.

RevTheory wrote:I hear ya, woody. My grandma "fixes" corn for supper. "Ya'll member awallago when we fixed catfish?" My neighbor grows "d'madas" in her garden. My uncle just changed the ooooool in his Cummings and I ain't shittin' ya none now neither!

I grew up in S.E. New Mexico but was gone for 20+ years. Now that I've been back for a couple of years, I'm quite amazed.

English spoken in the southern USA might as well be a different language from English spoken in the UK where the language came from, and Canada and Australia each have their own variations.

I can generally understand the Queen's English, but Wales ... or the Isle of Man ... nope! And the further south I go in the USA (or the further into inner cities) the tougher it gets, until you get to either Florida or California.

"Colour" is spelled with a "u" in it. So is "labour". The last letter of the alphabet is pronounced "zed". One of the bills that comes in the mail is the "hydro" bill. A "loonie" is a dollar coin, a "toonie" is a two-dollar coin. We have "highways" not freeways. Hard to define "proper nomenclature" when stuff is called something different in two different places!

Found this ... https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~steffan/canadianisms.html

Reminds me of Smokey and the Bandit-

"When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the country you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are."