Redundant design or practice, such as a dowel pin plus a screw, a threadlocker plus a lock nut, or a mechanical stop plus a software limit. Engineers use it approvingly for safety-critical items, and machinists use it teasingly for someone who never trusts a single method. Either way, it means the thing is not coming apart.
Heard on the job
Doweled and bolted, plus a bead of weld, that's belt and suspenders, but it's a lifting lug so I'm fine with it.
Also heard as
- belt and braces
Related terms
Skookum
Strong, stout and well built, the highest praise for a tool, part or weld; also means really good.
This is how you get ants
Deadpan warning, borrowed from TV comedy, that a shortcut or design choice will cause trouble later.
Bodge
A crude, makeshift repair or piece of work that does the job, but only just.