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Some men are really good at fixing things, especially the household appliances while they're not specialists or technician. Is there any words to explain these people?

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17  
You might call him marriageable. – onomatomaniak Nov 10 '11 at 19:06
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@onomatomaniak, one can argue that if you'd marry him, you will never see brand new anything for the rest of your life. – whitequark Nov 10 '11 at 23:28
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I would call them Tim. :) – user712092 Nov 10 '11 at 23:43

4 Answers

up vote 40 down vote accepted

Handy, which is something I'm not. (Just ask my wife...) MW says:

clever in using the hands especially in a variety of convenient ways [a man who is handy around the house]

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4  
But seldom applied to women, I think. 'A handy woman' suggests something altogether different. – Barrie England Nov 10 '11 at 17:23
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@BarrieEngland: Handy without man or woman attached suffices. I had a girlfriend who was handy; she made furniture, and kept her BMW 2002 in tune... – Gnawme Nov 10 '11 at 17:29
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@Gnawme: Well, but "handy" is an adjective. You can say, "I need someone handy to fix this toaster", but you wouldn't say, "Fred got a job as a handy." – Jay Nov 10 '11 at 17:33
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The "handy" in "handy woman" to me suggests "nearby" :) – JeffSahol Nov 10 '11 at 17:37
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"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." (from the Red Green show) Meaning that you should be able to fix or build things. – LarsH Nov 10 '11 at 22:27
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up vote 22 down vote

The person is called a "handyman".

A handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home.

From Wikipedia

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5  
Well, there's a subtlety there. I think "handy man" -- two words -- normally refers to any man who is skilled at fixing things around the house. But "handyman" -- one word -- is an occupation, someone who does minor repairs and upgrades for a living. – Jay Nov 10 '11 at 17:27
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@Jay Not necessarily. From that same article, "The term handyman increasingly describes a paid worker, but it also includes non-paid homeowners or do-it-yourselfers." – LarsTech Nov 10 '11 at 17:31
up vote 8 down vote

Other more formal solutions:

  • Maintenance worker *
  • Maintenance man
  • Repairman
  • Service man
  • Repairer *

Other potential creative solutions:

  • Fixer-upper *
  • Mr. Fix-it
  • DIY expert *
  • DIYer * (term presented by Izkata)
  • Handy Andy
  • Handy Mandy ** (term created by rachet freak)

Gender neutral terms are marked with an asterisk *

Gender female terms are marked with two asterisks **

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1  
Handy Mandy for the females ;) – ratchet freak Nov 11 '11 at 1:26
hahaha that's awesome – ChrisM Nov 11 '11 at 1:56
I would be wary of calling someone a "fixer-upper" -- to me that means they have something wrong with themselves, since I usually hear, e.g., "that house is a fixer-upper". – Justin Nov 11 '11 at 12:45
Ah, but that's all about how you use the sentence and the context surrounding it. If we are talking about insane asylums, yes, that would be a legitimate interpretation of the sentence. However, if I said, "This house has so much wrong with it, good thing Mandy is such a good fixer-upper", I think the meaning is clear. (+1 on Handy Mandy btw) – ChrisM Nov 11 '11 at 15:47
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+1, I also see "DIYer" in those circles online on occasion – Izkata Nov 11 '11 at 18:56
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up vote 7 down vote

Jack of all trades, odd-job man might be synonyms of handyman.

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