Those unfamiliar with the subreddit or with the term “redneck engineering” might be confused as to what it actually is. The synonyms would be makeshift repairs or jerry-rigging. The latter term has its own history with potential to offend (just as “redneck” does), but a makeshift something is probably your best bet when describing something in the realm of redneck engineering.

Another word that’s used frequently to describe makeshift repairs is MacGyvering. Sure, it’s very American-centric and probably doesn’t say a lot to people who weren’t around during the ‘80s. However, the Oxford Dictionaries site officially decreed that it was a verb on August 27, 2015.

There was a debate a couple of years ago on r/AskAnAmerican whether the term “redneck engineering” can be considered offensive or not. The general (as long as you don’t sort the comments by controversial) consensus is no. Many users were of the opinion that most of the “engineers” laugh at their inventions as well. It’s not offensive as long as the people are in on it themselves.

Laughing is also fair when the repair is obviously meant to make others laugh. Duct taping cracks in the asphalt? That’s hardly a functional fix. Some entries on this list are similar in this way, done only for entertainment.

The engineers also rarely expect their creations to be aesthetically pleasing or exceptionally impressive in their functionality. “It's finding a solution to a problem that isn't elegant, but makes do with limited resources to be ‘good enough’ and get the job done,” said a user by the name of Crayshack.

Surely, nowadays redneck engineers don’t disarm atomic bombs with paper clips like MacGyver did. On the other hand, sometimes the results can be quite impressive. Redneck engineering usually happens under certain circumstances. Either within a short timeframe or limited by the wrong equipment, redneck engineering can actually lead to pretty exciting contraptions.

Coming back to the synonyms, jerry-rigged has its own impressive linguistic history. The Merriam-Webster explains that it’s a mix of the terms jury-rigged and jerry-built that reached its prominence in the late 19th century. Jury-rigged was used in the 18th century strictly in a nautical context. It meant something constructed in a makeshift fashion.

In the mid 1800s, the term jerry-rigging came on the scene. It was used to describe something that was built cheaply and carelessly. Merriam-Webster also observes that jerry-rigging is seen as the inferior of the three, it is still a fully established and used term. 

“Jerry-rigged” has another, not a very wholesome connotation. Dictionary.com writes that the word “jerry” was used by the British soldiers during World War I and II as a derogatory term towards Germans. The pronunciation of the first syllable of “German” was made into the English name Jerry and made as a pun.

Other sources claim that the word “jerry” was how the British soldiers called the German helmets. In their minds, they resembled chamber pots, hence the derogatory nickname. The British soldiers used “jerry-rigged” to refer to machines that German soldiers left behind, repaired with salvaged parts.

The founder of the subreddit r/RedneckEngineering Flounder19 spoke to our writer Jonas a couple of years ago. He shared the origin story of the subreddit. Upon seeing a picture of a pair of rednecks who constructed a picnic boat, he decided to create a subreddit where such inventions could be shared, laughed at and admired.

r/RedneckEngineering now has 717 thousand members in total. It’s also in the top 1% of the top reddit communities, currently taking place as the 749th. If you ever decide to apply your own creativity in similar ways, remember the wise words of engineer Shane McKenna: apart from safety, there are no rules to redneck engineering. You bend the rules and make it work.