Architecture Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Architecture, housing, buildings, architects, blueprints, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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Fedders building n. The recent proliferation on detached house blocks of multi-family housing, characterized by some as “Fedders buildings” for the name on the air-conditioning sleeves, prompted local officials to request that Department of City Planning (DCP) study the area. [New York City English Architecture] [full cite] (Mar. 12, 2005)

Fedders house n. Perhaps most vocal among the complainants decrying the development of “Fedders houses,” as they have come to be known, are residents of Bay Ridge, whose neighborhood awaits city approval of a rezoning measure that would bar such housing developments. So ugly and bland are those buildings, say some, that their most striking architectural trait may well be the air conditioner sleeve itself.…“I would hope the houses are as well built and as high quality as the air conditioners they’re named after.” The colloquialism, while originating by most accounts in Bay Ridge several years ago, has spread to all corners of the city in recent months.…Bloomberg has used the term “Fedders houses” on numerous occasions and, said Coffey, uses it when referring to zoning measures in other neighborhoods and boroughs. [New York City English Architecture] [full cite] (Mar. 12, 2005)

Fedders house n. Last year, a group took to the streets to protest the loss of their homes to condominiums and co-ops—buildings they have labeled “Fedders houses” after the air-conditioning units that protrude from the outside walls. [New York City English Architecture] [full cite] (Mar. 12, 2005)

Fire Island option n. I’d do what is now being called “the Fire Island option,” which involves putting up flimsy houses that you don’t mind losing to a storm. You don’t insure them. [ Language English Register New or Nonce Subject Architecture] [full cite] (Jan. 10, 2006)

fit-out n. Christopher Buckley…appeared unfazed by this profusion of events in the midst of the process he calls the “fit-out”: the finish, furnishing and equipping of the interiors. [ Language English Subject Architecture] [full cite] (Sep. 29, 2005)

five-plex n. As with lofts and penthouses, the definition of a townhouse has expanded. Now the word is often used to mean any multilevel residence, no matter where you find it (the townhouse at Park South Lofts is a “five-plex” located not on the ground level but on the 16th floor of a prewar condo high-rise). [English Architecture Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Oct. 30, 2006)

fly space n. The board also recently decided to retain a storage area over the new auditorium, commonly known as a fly space, which was part of the original plan. For the last two months, the board discussed the need for the space commonly used for storage of sets and backdrops in stage productions. [English Architecture] [full cite] (May. 23, 2007)

flyover n. The prospect of an overpass that will eliminate the traffic circle by fall 2006 infuriates the native Cape Codder.…They argue that the rotary can handle more cars than the bridge, making the bridge the traffic problem, not the rotary—many Cape residents and businesses believe the flyover will ease traffic headaches by keeping traffic moving. [English Architecture] [full cite] (May. 26, 2005)

FONSI n. ITD hopes to obtain a Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI in regulatory parlance, from the Federal Highway Administration. [English United States Architecture Automobiles & Transportation Jargon Acronym] [full cite] (Jun. 3, 2004)

Garnier limb n. But that was before an engineering breakthrough developed by conference participants, the so-called Garnier Limb, allowed treehouses greater stability and longer life, and before a spate of how-to and coffee-table books helped popularize them. Within a few years, elaborate treehouses, many costing upwards of $100,000, were becoming almost faddish in the United States as well as in Japan and France. [English Architecture Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Apr. 12, 2007)

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