XC9000 wrote:
Never heard of the expression.
I do recall people calling them 'ners' bars and even more confusing 'Nurse' bars in the 1980s but that is a long time dead. let's get it straight
But interstingly - where does NERF come from

A little plastic gun/rifle/crossbow/projectile weapon you give your kids so they stop throwing the cat at the wall to see if it will stick
Alternatively, Princess Leia to Han "Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder!"
Or from wiki:
"Nerf (disambiguation)
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Nerf is a brand of toy and can also refer to the foam that these toys use.
Nerf may refer to:
Nerf, an animal in the fictional Star Wars universe
N.E.R.F., acronym which refers to the New England Rainbow Family
Nerf (video gaming), a change to a game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular game element
Nerf Arena Blast (or NAB, sometimes Arena Blast), a first-person shooter game developed in 1999 by the now-defunct Visionary Media Inc.
Nerf bar, a tubular step fitted to the side of a truck or SUV to facilitate easy entry and exit
Nerf Herder, a pop-punk band from Santa Barbara formed in 1994
Nerf Herder (album), the eponymous debut album by Nerf Herder, released in November 1996
Nirma Education and Research Foundation, patron of Nirma University"