Turn of the screw

Welcome to Pet Peeve Friday™! In the crosshairs today: “slotted screwdriver.”

I’m working on an article on miter saws, and have had the pleasure of setting up a few new ones for photographs. Always fun unboxing new tools, but two of the manuals stepped precariously into my personal Pet Peeve zone when they noted that for assembly, among the tools required is a “slotted screwdriver.”

Excuse me, tool-manual writers – and people everywhere – there is no such thing as a slotted screwdriver. There is a screwdriver that works to drive slotted screws, but the driver is definitively NOT slotted. It’s flat or, if you prefer, flat-blade.

So please, do yourself a favor before I become King of the World™, and get into the habit of never saying this again, because when that day comes I will rule swiftly and harshly against anyone using this erroneous term.

Thank you, and join us next time on Pet Peeve Friday™ when we discuss pneumatic air tools. Have a nice day!