tried googling it but I only got the idiom and not an actual answer

  • egrets@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    19 days ago

    I could believe that it might be a local or even vocation-specific phrase (see “southpaw” in boxing, for example), but the doubling down instead of questioning whether their take might be hyperspecific or plain wrong is hilarious.

    • glimse@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      19 days ago

      My charitable explaination is that he worked in the trades for a long time and is confusing an extremely local phrase (“grip with your paw”) with actual definition of the word.

      One construction team I worked with a lot when I did trades called 2x4s “tooths” (two four -> twofer -> tooths) along with a bunch of other jargon. My team (AV/IT) called small screwdrivers “tweaks.” When you work with the same people long enough, you come up with your own jokes and phrases…