Every hobby has its own ‘in words’ and LEGO is no different – in fact I think we have more specialised terms, or jargon, than most.
Have you ever wanted to know what SNOT stands for, and what sort of brick gets called a Davros? The answers are here!
And if I’ve missed anything, let me know and I’ll update the list.
ABB – Automatic Binding Brick. Produced by the LEGO group in 1949, these were the precursor of today’s LEGO brick. They had slots on the sides and no tubes underneath.
ABS – Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene – the raw material from which LEGO is made.
AFOL – Adult Fan of LEGO.
BI – Building Instructions. Also, the Brick Issue – a newsletter that can be downloaded for free from the Brickish Association’s website.
BL – Bricklink. An online lego marketplace.
Bley – A blueish-grey colour, also a derogatory name for the grey colours introduced by LEGO in 2004 (much to the annoyance of fans).
BOLOCS – Built Of Lots Of Colours – typically, how young children build.
BT1 – Blacktron first generation – the evil ones with the black visors.
BT2 – Blacktron, the future generation – the good guys with green visors.
BURP – Big Ugly Rock Piece, referring to part 6082.
Cheese – 1x1x2/3 Slope tiles.
Clone Brand – Any rival brick building system, such as Tyco, Megabloks or Coco.
Clutch – The degree to which LEGO elements stick to each other.
CRAPP – Crummy Ramp and Pit Plate – the baseplate with a ramp and pit.
DALEK – 1×1 brick with studs on four sides.
DAVROS – 1×1 brick with studs on two sides (half a dalek).
Dots – 1×1 round plates (also known as ‘pips’).
FBTB – From Bricks To Bothans – a Star Wars LEGO website.
Greeble – Small parts added as details – usually to a space MOC.
Headlight Brick – Also known as a washing machine, or The Erling Brick as it was named by the LEGO Designer Erling Dideriksen, who invented this element in 1979. The technical name is ‘angular brick, 1×1’. It’s design ID 4070.
Jumper – Modified 1 x 2 plate with 1 Stud. The official name is ‘plate, 1×2, with 1 knob’. There are also 2×2 jumpers, these have a single stud in the centre.
KFOL – Kid Fan of LEGO.
LDD – LEGO Digital Designer. Computer software that lets you build virtual LEGO models.
LDraw – the LDraw organisation.
LDU – LDraw Unit. A brick is 24 LDU tall, and a plate is 8 LDU btall.
L-Gauge – the scale of LEGO trains.
Launderette – Brick 1 x 4 With 4 studs on the side.
LSAH – Lego Shop at Home – a direct order branch of LEGO. Also known as LS@H, S@H, SAH.
LTC – LEGO Train Club – usually combined with an area abrevation.
LUG: LEGO User Group – usually combined with an area abbreviation; Northern Brickworks is one that is officially ‘Recognised’ by The LEGO Community Event & Engagement Team!
LURP – Little Ugly Rock Piece .
LUGNET: LEGO User Group NETwork.
MF – Millenium Falcon, or MiniFig.
MIB – Mint In Box.
MISB – Mint In Sealed Box.
MISP – Mint In Sealed Polybag.
MOC – My Own Creation. Refers to original LEGO creations by fans.
NLF – Non-LEGO Friend.
NLP – Non-LEGO Parent.
NLS – Non-LEGO Spouse.
NLSO – Non-LEGO Significant Other.
NPU – Nice Piece (or Part) Usage, a compliment on innovative building.
Peeron – a LEGO inventory website, named after a pet cat: Peeron.com.
Plate: -A LEGO piece that is one-third the height of a regular brick.
POOP – Piece that can (or should) be made Out of Other Pieces.
RORY – The 2×4 brick. Heaven knows why.
Update Aug 2015: A usually reliable source tells me this is rhyming slang, so a ‘two by foury’ becomes a ‘rory’. Now you know!
ROSS – 1×1 brick with a stud on one side (half a Davros…).
SHIP – Significantly Huge Investment in Parts, a very large LEGO creation.
SNAIL – Someone Not at All Interested in Lego. This was coined by our very own Robert Clarkson.
SNIR – Studs Not In a Row, an advanced building technique that uses diagonally oriented bricks.
SNOT – Studs Not On Top, an advanced building technique in which studs face different directions.
SPUA – Special Part Used Again, a part which is seemingly only for a particular set or theme, but is used again for another.
SP1 – Space Police One – the white/black uniforms with trans-red visors.
SP2 – Space Police Two – the black/green uniforms with the trans-green visors.
TFOL – Teenage Fan Of LEGO
Tile – A LEGO plate with no studs on top.
TLM – The LEGO Movie
TLC – The LEGO Company – known by this name since autumn 1999, formerly it was known as TLG – The LEGO Group.
UCS: – Ultimate Collectors’ Series – larger sets, geared towards experienced builders.
WIP – Work In Progress. There are usually several of these on an AFOL’s desk…
