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Welcome, to the first installment of the “buckle series.” As a service to you, we here at the Snug Harness break down some of the useful terminology and make fun of some of the stupid buckle names that sales guys use for their fall protection. So, without any further ado, let’s pull out a “buckle” word from the Snug Harness Word Sack:

Tongue Buckle:

Definition: A Tongue Buckle is a fastener used on a harness, most commonly around the legs, that closely resembles a belt buckle for your pants.

Word Origin: As with most words in this industry, I have absolutely no idea where this name came from. I can kind of understand the choice of “tongue” because half of it just hangs there, like a tongue falling out of a womanizer’s mouth, but my question is this, why use the word tongue when there are several other body parts that simply “hang there?” Actually, now that I think about it, I believe the name is derived from a series of educational films called, “The Tongue Bucklers.” I’ve only seen the 5^th one, it was ok, but I expected a little more from the plot. There was too much heart pounding action going on and the story about the plumber was underdeveloped.

Analysis: The Tongue Buckle, which is most commonly used for the legs straps on a harness, can also be used for the waist buckles on some harnesses. The tongue buckle’s long lost brother is the belt buckle for pants, but sadly, very large ornamental cowboy buckles are unavailable for harnesses.

One of the advantages of the tongue buckle is its ability to get the buckle much tighter than you would on other buckles, such as a mating buckle. Apparently, some guys like it tight. None of my business.

One of the problems with tongue buckles, is that they’ll never be exact, because if there isn’t a grommet there you can’t buckle it there. You’ll try to buckle it, fail, and end up saying the same thing your dad said when he got finished building a spice rack for your mother, “Eh, that’s good enough.” Unfortunately, that’s not good enough. Another problem with the tongue buckle is that they will eventually stretch out (over a long period of time), or you might run out of grommets to put your shaft through if you gain or lose weight.

Tongue buckles can be pretty darn secure, especially if you fasten them tight enough, but a lot of workers feel they take too much time to put on. I don’t know about that, but if you are concerned about it, look for something with a quick connect buckle. Look, it can’t be worse or take more time than watching your Uncle Stephen trying to squeeze into a pair of spandex that were mislabeled as extra large when they were clearly a child size, and you spend the rest of the day wishing he had been wearing underpants.

Disclaimer: This post in no way implies that individuals who like tight buckles are disgusting. It’s a personal preference and I respect that, but it should never be discussed with the three-person audience that The Snug Harness entertains. If you want to discuss tight buckles further, call me.

Similar Terms:
The Buckle Hole
The Hole Damn Buckle
The Shaft In Eye Buckle
The Hung Buckle (only kidding!)

Word Associations:
Tongue Buckle: I don’t care for piercings.
Tongue Buckle: I believe that’s a delicacy in some countries.
Tongue Buckle: Why would I need a buckle for my tongue, unless by tongue, you mean another part of my body? (Wink.)

So, there you have it. You learned about a new buckle for your harness. It’s has pros and cons, and hopefully we made a decision for you a little easier. I hope you appreciated our dissection of the Tongue Buckle, and we’ll be back again next week with another word in the “buckle series.” Thanks for stopping by the Snug Harness, where it’s always hot and sweaty. You never know what you might find in the Snug Harness’ world of construction and fall protection.

Technorati Tags: fall protection, safety harness buckle, tongue buckle

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