A personification, borrowed from military slang, of the impulse that adds a feature, changes a tolerance or reroutes a job after the work is already underway. The good idea fairy usually visits managers and engineers on Friday afternoons. Shops use the phrase to push back politely on changes that cost far more than they are worth.
Heard on the job
Good idea fairy visited engineering again, they want a bolt circle added to parts we finished yesterday.
Also heard as
- idea fairy
Related terms
Clipboard warrior
Shop dig at a manager, auditor or inspector who walks the floor with paperwork but never runs the tools.
This is how you get ants
Deadpan warning, borrowed from TV comedy, that a shortcut or design choice will cause trouble later.
Left-handed screwdriver
A tool that does not exist, which new apprentices are sent to fetch as a rite of initiation.