A newcomer in the building trades may be sent to fetch a “left-handed screwdriver,” a “glass hammer” or “striped or tartan paint.” Another errand is to ask at a shop for a “long weight” or a “long stand.” The shopkeeper keeps the newcomer waiting, and the newcomer gets a long wait.
In a 2024 podcast by SECTT, a training body for electricians, one speaker recalled: “I know someone who go sent to look for a left-handed screwdriver – they were away for ages.”