Expression of the Moment: "It's an old man's job, but I'll grow into it."

"It's an old man's job, but I'll grow into it"--A relative of mine got a plum job as a TV news studio head, which is a "light on, lights off" studio. Somebody said it was an old man's job. His response was, "It's an old man's job, but I'll grow into it."

Term of the Moment: Grabbing the Brass Ring

grabbing the brass ring--getting a plum job or a head's job. On 19th century wooden carousels, there was a wooden sleeve full of wooden rings and one brass ring suspended over the riders. The riders would grab the rings on each pass, hoping to get the brass one.

Winter Term of the Moment: The Great White-Out Way

The Great White-Out Way--a pun on the old term from Broadway, the Great White Way, referring to the blizzard on Saturday, January 23, 2016 that shut down Broadway shows for the third time in recent memory. People who bought $1500 "Hamilton" tickets were bummed out because there was no rain-date show. All they got back was the face value of the tickets, which is around $177.

Term of the Moment: injured reserve list

injured reserve list--when half the stagehands in a department claim injuries (back, neck, wrist, etc.) that prevent them from unloading trucks during a load in. "Five of the guys in the department are on the injured reserve list, so that leaves three of us to unload the steel."

Term of the Day: old-man speed

old-man speed--slow down, you are working too fast. "Go to old-man speed with your mop. The carpenters aren't done with their strike."

Yiddish Term of the Moment: verklempt

verklempt--(Yiddish) to be overcome by emotion, to be on the cusp of tears. "The old stagehand became verklempt as he cleaned out his roadbox."

Term of the Night: crewed up

crewed up--the show has all the stagehands it needs. It is a nice way to turn away job seekers, saying they are SOL. "I'm sorry, the show is crewed up already."

Yiddish Term of the Day: to futz around

to futz around--to waste time. (From the Yiddish arumfatzen, to fart about.) "I was futzing around in the basement before my first cue."

Term of the moment: (a) Bartleby

(a) Bartleby--stagehand who refuses to work. From the Herman Melville short story.

Old Actor Term of the Moment: Netflix role

Netflix role--when an older character has a role where they appear onstage for two five-minute bits and the bows, that is a Netflix role, where they can watch Netflix movies in their dressing room for most of the show.

Term of the Moment: Have fun storming the castle!

 Have fun storming the castle!--sarcastic line when a group of stagehands are sent off on a mission. It's a line from the 1987 movie "The Princess Bride."

Term of the Day: stagehand Valhalla

Stagehand Valhalla--long-running show. Getting on a long-running show like "Phantom" or "Wicked" is stagehand heaven. From Norse mythology, Valhalla is "the hall of the fallen." Must be said with a Schwarzenegger accent.

Term of the Day: "Having the time of my life"

"Having the time of my life"--sarcastic response when asked how you are doing. see: "Living the dream."

Repressed Term of the Moment: nice-guy rage

nice-guy rage--when a self-proclaimed "nice guy" explodes, the results can be very nasty.

Comic Term of the Moment: "It's not my circus, it's not my monkeys."

"It's not my circus, it's not my monkeys." Whatever fuck up is happening right now is not my responsibility.

Term of Brute Force: roll and break

roll and break--when the deck is being trashed after a show has closed, the carpenters may flip over individual pieces of the deck with brute force, snapping the hardware and then carrying the freed sections out to the trash truck. "Let's roll and break the downstage section of the deck. It's faster than unscrewing it."

Term of the Moment: junior shit-stirrer

junior shit-stirrer-young stagehand who tries to stir up controversy without guile or skill. Often not aware of the alliances that he or she is stepping on.

Term of the Day--buried alive

buried alive--when you work at the long-running show like "Phantom" or "Wicked," people think you have retired.

Term of the Day: running in with my hair on fire

running in with my hair on fire--last-minute shopping experiences for daily TV shows. "I ran into Macy's with my hair on fire, desperate to buy 10 silver casseroles for 'The Tonight Show.'"

Term of the Day: monkeys trying to fuck a football

monkeys trying to fuck a football--major screw up involving multiple players. Fun to watch. "Watching the new carpenter and his inexperienced assistant fit the oversized rolling unit through the tiny stage door was like watching monkeys trying to fuck a football."