The problem with slang is that the definitions are not standardized.
For instance, the slang term we use here for large NMS cable (typically with a black sheath) is the same term used in the Gary, Indiana area for fine stranded single conductors. DLC perhaps? I didn't see any but heard the term while I was working down there in a steel mill. The first time I heard some of the guys talking about it I remember thinking, "What on Earth would you use NMS for in a steel mill?" I asked my foreman about it and he was the one that told me it wasn't NMS.
I have heard some guys refer to scaffolding as "picks". We also refer to a load being lifted by a crane as a "pick".
Some slang may be specific to a single company or small group of co-workers. Would any of you know what I meant if I asked you to go get Cheep off the table and hand him to me? I doubt it, but I do know that the guys I work with regularly would know exactly what I was talking about. "Cheep" is the name we give to what is normally referred to as a tic tracer. A hammer is a whack-em. The box I keep my test equipment, some of which I made myself, is called the Voo-Doo box. One of the contractors I troubleshoot for calls my troubleshooting Voo-Doo and refers to it in that manner. If he calls up and tells me he needs me to 'put a root' on something, I know he wants me to troubleshoot a problem for him.
In the union, apprentii (plural for apprentice) are called cubs. Scrap wire is called rabbit. A ratchet cable cutter is called a rabbit cutter.
Of course we all know what Kerney's and Mini's are. Rope is wire and line is rope. And we all have the same definition for an Arlington box, right?
Slang is fun, but can be counter productive. There should be a universal standard for our terminology. I am not saying that we should abandon the use of slang because if the group working together all knows what is being referred to, it can be a great means to achieve aural brevity.