mop and glow

v. phr. attributively, connoting hazardous materials clean-up, especially when applied to emergency services personnel. Subjects: English, Firefighting, Police, Slang

Etymological Note: Probably influenced by “Mop & Glo,” a strong-smelling household floor cleaner manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser.

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Citations: 1989 Charolette Aiken Sunday Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (Dec. 10) “‘Mop and Glow Boys’ Take Dangerous Duties Seriously” p. 29: Their buddies call them “The Mop and Glow Boys.” Members of the Oklahoma City Fire Department’s hazardous materials response unit take the kidding in stride. 1999 Cory Hamasaki DC Y2K Weather Report (Nov. 26): We have hazmat teams. Our first one in 1984 [[became known as]] “Mop and Glow.” 2001 Usenet: alt.firefighters (Nov. 20) “Re: 50 Cent a Gallon gas soon”: We are mostly haz mat aware only and count on a county team of suckers to do the mop and glow stuff, but the city wants 2 engines at Tech Level asap. 2004 Wayne Hines Fulton County Fire IAFF Local 3920 (Atlanta, Ga.) (Mar. 18) “Why do we get invovled in Politics?”: Your union dues here goes to help pay the rent on the office, office supplies, this web site, the training material Capt. Randy Blanchard is using to train our future haz mat team (AKA the Mop and Glow Team ) and other such items. 2004 [MckCh613] Thewatchdesk (May 16) “HAZ MAT in Morgan County”: I believe when I became a HazMat Tech. Cont. Ed. hours was offered for EMS recerts.…Become a tech, doing the mop and glow stuff is actually kinda fun once ya get into it. 2005 James Schrang Civilian Warriors, Civilian Healers (May 25) p. 105: The only unit that would have two paramedics was the HAZMAT Unit.…The “Mop and Glow Team,” as we called them. 2005 [Smokeatr] Passat World Forums (June 28) “My other ride…”: I didnt take haz mat besides the required tech level…I have no interest being a mop and glow. 2005 Daily World (Grays Harbor, Wash.) (Sept. 30) “Aberdeen ‘Decon’ drill goes well”: In the vernacular of hazardous materials operations, cleanup crews often jokingly call themselves “Mop and glow boys.”

Posted 10 Oct 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend