Do you know what a drop cord is?

[Van Huskey]

Used drop cord (for extension cord) all my life, also from the South. My wife from Louisiana didn't know what that was until I edjumacated her.

[Belinda Barfield]

I still use a drop cord on occasion. It's an extension cord. No lights, nothing fancy.

[Curt Harms]

Perry,

Maybe it's a Southern thing...... I call them drop cords also.

Not just a southern thing. I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin. Never heard the term extension cord, just drop cord. And the difference between 220 volt outlets and 110 volt outlets was that the 220 volt outlets were painted red . Of course that way you could plug a drop cord into 220 if you needed it.

[Jason Roehl]

Extension cord/trouble light. MI-Taiwan-IN-Brazil-IN. I guess two of those locales wouldn't share that nomenclature.

[Dennis Peacock]

I had never heard of a drop light.

One of my boys "created" one of those just last night Ken....changing the bulb on the back porch. We fixed the "drop light" with a broom and dust pan.

[Gene Howe]

"An extension cord is that skinny flat brown one used in the house. A drop cord is that longer, thick, round black thingie used in the shop, or on the roof."

My wife's distinction. Of course, it was a "radio alarm saw" for a long time, too.

[Chuck Saunders]

Drop cord = extension cord = can't find one when you need it except for the 100' 10ga when you need a 6 footer. But then I went to school in NC so I am tainted.

Q. Would you rather jump out of an airplane with a parachute or a drop cord?

A. Drop cord. Parachute may not open, drop cord is sure to hang up on something.

[Rod Sheridan]

Interesting, I learn something here every day.

Where I'm from a drop cord is a length of flexible cord rated for heavy use, that's permanently wired and has a suspension grip at the ceiling to support it.

The cord with a connector body hangs down near the bench or piece of machinery, and you plug the machine or portable tool into it.

The other item that's referred to as a drop cord in previous posts, we call extension cords, the one with a lamp on the end is a "trouble lamp" or "inspection lamp".

Regards, Rod.

P.S. I did enjoy the post about the drop lamp needing a broom, that's what happens to me half of the time.

[Rick Prosser]

Our family used drop cord or extension cord interchangeably. Never heard of a drop light - but we used trouble lights when working on the car.

We also try to remember to "cut off" the lights when we leave a room. My wife thinks the phrase is hilarious (she being from the midwest where apparently they only "turn off" lights.)

"drop cord is sure to hang up on something." - so true

[mike holden]

Maybe its my manufacturing background, but a drop cord is attached permanently at one end and drops down from the ceiling. An extension cord has a male plug at one end and a female at the other.
Current capacity (as in wire gauge) is immaterial to the nomenclature.

Mike in Michigan

[Scott Shepherd]

Well to Richmond, I hope you enjoy your time here. Born and raised here, it's been both, a drop cord and an extension cord all my life.

Drop cords seemed to be what term we used in the shop or garage. When it went into the house, it became an extension cord So it would depend on where you are using it

[Jim Rimmer]

Our family used drop cord or extension cord interchangeably. Never heard of a drop light - but we used trouble lights when working on the car.

We also try to remember to "cut off" the lights when we leave a room. My wife thinks the phrase is hilarious (she being from the midwest where apparently they only "turn off" lights.)

"drop cord is sure to hang up on something." - so true

Interesting that turning off or cutting off lights makes them go out.

[Trevor Howard]

"Drop cord" to me comes down from the ceiling, either hanging at 7ft from the ground permanently or on a retractable reel. An extension cord to me is an extension cord, along the floor or down a wall.

[Bill LaPointe]

I was raised i Illinois and never heard of either a drop cord or drop light. Back then I used both an extension cord or a trouble light. When I move to the south the extension cord became those little skinny brown or white cords with multiple sockets that you plugged your lamp or Xmas tree light into. All other colors of extension cords became drop cords. Not so much a southern thing but, I think, a rural thing. My 2 c.

[Myk Rian]

In industry and commercial applications, a drop cord is power to a machine connected by a strain relief in the ceiling.
An extension cord is what you would use to provide power from a wall receptacle.