Jesus nut

English

Etymology

Possibly from the Vietnam War. From the notion that, given its critical function, if the nut were to fail, the only thing left to do would be to "pray to Jesus".

Noun

Jesus nut (plural Jesus nuts)

  1. (aviation, slang) The nut that holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters.
  2. (slang, figurative) A single point of failure with catastrophic consequences.

See also