A large hammer, mallet, pry bar, or length of pipe used to apply brute force to a jammed or misaligned part. When finesse and standard hand tools fail, workers reach for this to physically compel the hardware to cooperate. It is a universal shop joke that violence solves mechanical problems.
Heard on the job
That bracket is never going to slide over the mounting bolts, so go grab the persuader and give it a tap.
Insider tip
Using a persuader on cast iron or brittle plastics usually results in shattered parts rather than a successful fit.
Also heard as
- convincer
- attitude adjuster