LEGO Acronyms & AFOL Lingo

Here’s a collection of words, phrases and abbreviations you might hear when speaking to an AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO) (special thanks to www.the brickblogger.com and www.brothers-bricks.com for some of these):

ABS: “Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene”. The type of plastic that LEGO bricks are made from. Far from being a government controlled substance, this form of ABS is readily available in every shopping mall and is even sold to children in the form of boxes filled with small brightly colored rectangular pellets, and has caused more misery and suffering in the world than the opium epidemics of the 19th century.
AFOL: “Adult-Fan-of-LEGO”. The most common term used to refer to LEGO fans who are adults. Generally pronounced “ay-foal.”
AHOL: “Adult Hobbyist of LEGO”. The H is sometimes interchanged with another word not defined here. This generally refers to a buyer of sets, not a builder of MOCs, but not always exclusive.
ALE: “Adult LEGO Enthusiast”. Some LEGO fans prefer to be called enthusiasts rather than fans, attempting to avoid the perceived stigma of the word “fanatic.” See also: AFOL
Ambassador: The title given to fan liaisons who represent fan organizations within the LAN.
Anti-Stud: The indentation in the bottom of bricks and plates which serves as a stud receptacle and is one half of the mechanism by which LEGO pieces interlock.

Bignette: a large LEGO creation (larger than a Vignette, but smaller than a Diorama).
Blay/Bley: “Bluish Gray/Grey” refers to the current LEGO gray/grey, compared to the old version “Old Gray/Grey”.
Brick: A universal name for a LEGO piece, regardless of shape or color. Also: In LEGO element taxonomy, any roughly cubic LEGO piece which is 3 or more plates tall. Also: In technical terms, used to refer a specific piece shape, regardless of color. Contrast with Element.
Brick-Built: a LEGO creation that is composed of basic LEGO elements, instead of more specialized elements. (For example brick built figures, animals, or objects.)
Builder: A LEGO fan whose primary interest is building MOCs. Contrast with Collector, though many fans are both collectors and builders.
BURP: “Big-Ugly-Rock-Piece”

Cheese Slope: a LEGO part with a 33° slope, 1×1 stud wide and 2 plates high. It is named after the fact that yellow pieces look like a wedge of cheese.
Clone: construction toys similar and often compatible with LEGO, but cheaper in quality and price, designed to compete with the LEGO brand. They are often greatly despised by LEGO-fans and sometimes referred to as fakos.
Collector: A LEGO fan whose primary interest is collecting official sets. Contrast with Builder, though many fans are both collectors and builders.
Custom: a LEGO creation or individual element that uses non-LEGO parts or modified parts, or accessories from third-party vendors like LifeLites and BrickForge. Contrast with Purist.
Customizer: a LEGO-fan who is not afraid to modify LEGO parts. Customizing may include painting, cutting, drilling, melting LEGO elements, adding other non-LEGO parts to a creation, or adding details with custom-made stickers and decals. These are all considered herecy by a “purist”.

Dark Ages: the period in a LEGO-fan’s life when he/she sets aside LEGO in favor other, non-LEGO pursuits.
Diorama: a very large LEGO scene, larger than a Bignette or Vignette.

Element: A universal name for a LEGO piece. Also: In technical terms, often considered to refer to a piece of a specific shape and color (e.g. a black 1×1 plate is a different element than a blue 1×1 plate). Contrast with Brick.

Gray Ages: A period in a LEGO fan’s life when they step away from actively building or participating in the LEGO community, but retains interest in LEGO and does not sell their LEGO collection. See also: Dark Ages
Greebles: pseudo-technical detail added to a LEGO creation to enhance its appearance, frequently seen in LEGO space and mecha creations.

Half-Stud Offset: a building technique that allows building without regard to the standard alignment of studs on a plate, usually achieved with a jumper plate.

Illegal: LEGO building techniques that break the “rules” for connections between LEGO elements used by official LEGO set designers – particularly connections that stress the LEGO elements.
Inventory: the list of LEGO elements included in an official LEGO set. Several LEGO fan sites host set inventories, including Peeron and BrickLink.

Jumper Plate: a 1×2-stud LEGO plate with only 1 stud in the center. Useful for half-stud offset building.

KFOL: “Kid-Fan-of-LEGO”. The LEGO Group’s primary target demographic aged 5-12.
Knolling: The process of arranging a series of elements next to each other in an aesthetically pleasing manner, without the pieces being connected. The parts are often arranged in rows by color, size, shape, or all three. Knolling is often done as a sorting method prior to building a set, or as a way of displaying the inventory of a set or model

LAN: “LEGO Ambassador Network”. The LEGO Company’s official outreach program for adult fans. LEGO designates fan organizations as an RLUG and grants an ambassadorship with access to the LAN. LEGO distributes support biannually to fan organizations via the LAN. See also: Ambassador.
LBR: “LEGO Brand Retail”. A brick and mortar LEGO store.
Legal: LEGO building techniques that follow building guidelines for official LEGO set designers.
Legos: Don’t you say that! The official plural form of LEGO is LEGO, following the grammatical convention of “fish” and “sheep.”
LGMS: “L-Gauge Modular System”. A set of standards for interconnecting LEGO train layout moduled together. See LGMS.org for more details.
LUG: “LEGO-Users-Group”. Local or regional LEGO clubs that regularly meet in-person for collaborations and events.
LUGBULK: A LEGO program available to RLUGs through which bulk quantities of elements may be purchased at discounted prices once per year. See also: LAN
LURP: “Little-Ugly-Rock-Piece”. The smaller of two classic pre-fabricated LEGO elements traditionally available in gray and frequently included in LEGO castle sets. Part number 6083. More experienced LEGO fans often encourage other builders to use brick-built landscaping rather than LURPs. See also: BURP

Microfig: small figures (half the size of regular minifigs) from the LEGO Games series
Midi Scale: refers to sets that are between miniature and minifig scale. They do not include minifigures, but are much more detailed than mini sets. So far only Star Wars sets have midi versions.
MILS: “Modular Integrated Landscaping System”. Landscaping system to use in collaborative displays with LEGO elements. See the MILS website for more details.
Minidoll: The thin, curved figures featured in LEGO Disney Princess, Elves, and Friends themes. First introduced in 2012, the design is a trademark of The LEGO Company. See also: Minifig
Minifig: Short for Minifigure. The blocky miniature figures featured in most LEGO sets. First introduced in 1978, the design is a trademark of The LEGO Company. See also: Minidoll
Minifig Scale: a LEGO creation built for the scale of standard LEGO minifigures.
Miniland Scale: A style and scale of building in which figures are approximately 10 bricks tall and most studs are left exposed. The name derives from the popular “Miniland” attractions at LEGOLAND theme parks which employ this style.
MOC: “My-Own-Creation”. A LEGO creation designed and built by a LEGO-fan without instructions. Pronounced as “mock.”
MSRP: “Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price”. The official price for a LEGO set as established by the LEGO Group for a particular market. Individual retailers may set their own prices higher or lower than MSRP, and MSRP may vary from country to country.

NLSO: “Non-LEGO Significant Other”. Refers to partners or spouses of AFOLs who don’t build with LEGO.

PAB: “Pick-A-Brick”. Buy individual bricks in the quantities you want form LEGO’s online store or LEGO brand retail stores.
PAB Wall: Pick-A-Brick wall at LEGO brand retail stores.
Parts Draft: an activity common at LEGO club meetings, in which LEGO-fans each bring a copy of a LEGO set, sort out all of the LEGO elements, and take turns picking the parts they want. An easy way to get the parts you want in larger quantities without buying multiple copies of the set yourself.
Plate: Any LEGO piece which is 1/3 the height of a Brick. See also: Brick
Purist: A LEGO-fan who only uses official LEGO elements. Or a LEGO creation that only contains official LEGO elements with no modifications or custom parts. Contrast with Custom.

RLUG: “Recognized LEGO Users Group”. These LUGs are members of the LEGO Ambassador Network (LAN).

S@H or SAH: LEGO online store at www.lego.com
SHIP: “Seriously Huge Investment in Parts”. Sometimes Super or Significantly Huge Investment in Parts. A very large LEGO creation — particularly a LEGO space creation. As used in the LEGO space fan community, a SHIP is generally at least 100 studs long.
Sigfig: the minifig version of a LEGO-fan that he/she uses in online communities as an avatar, or “signature minifig.”
SNOT: “Studs-Not-On-Top”. A building technique that places LEGO elements on their sides or even upside down to achieve the shape or structure the builder wants in their creation.
STAMP: “Stickers-Across-Multiple-Pieces”.(See also DSS.)
Stud: The distinct cylindrical bump or knob on the surface of LEGO bricks which fits inside an anti-stud and serves as one half of the mechanism by which pieces interlock. Studs are frequently used as a unit of measurement: e.g. a model is 40 studs long. See also: Anti-Stud.
Studless: A building style in which visible studs are minimized or, ideally, eliminated. Usually accomplished by a combination of tiles and SNOT techniques.
Swooshable: A quality that allows a LEGO creation to be picked up and flown around a room as the builder makes flying and/or shooting noises.

Tablescrap: A small, clever build that doesn’t stand alone as a completed creation. From “table scraps,” i.e. leftovers. A tablescrap may be a simple exploration of a technique (such as an interesting way to combine several elements to make an odd shape), or may be a recognizable item that’s just too small to merit presentation on its own (such as a minifigure chair). Many builders set aside their tablescraps and save them for use in future creations.
TFOL: “Teen-Fan-of-LEGO”
Tile: Any LEGO plate which is devoid of all or most studs, giving it a smooth upper surface.
TLC: “The LEGO Company”
TLG: “The LEGO Group”. The privately held parent company for all LEGO-related brands and companies worldwide
Travis Brick: A modified 1×1 brick with studs on 4 sides. Named for Travis Kunce, a deceased fan who was known for his enthusiasm for the piece. Part number 4733. A common piece used in SNOT building.
TRU: “Toys‘R’Us”. TRU is a great source for LEGO products. They frequently have LEGO sets earlier than any other retailer (including LEGO’s own stores), and their selection is one of the largest. However their prices are often inflated.

UCS: “Ultimate Collector’s Series”. A series of large LEGO Star Wars sets designed for older teens and adults. They are typically not to minifig scale.

Vignette or Vig: a small scene recreated on a small plate.

WIP: “Work-In-Progress”. A MOC that is not finished.

6-wide: Refers to the width of train locomotives and rolling stock as 6 studs wide in packaged sets that LEGO produces. Some builders stay in this scale to build their MOC trains.
8-Wide: Refers to the width of train locomotives and rolling stock as 8 studs wide which roughly translates to 1:48 scale. This is the most popular LEGO train scale among enthusiasts.
10-wide: Refers to the width of train locomotives and rolling stock as 10 studs wide which roughly translates to 1:38 scale and matches scale with the width between standard LEGO train track elements. Builders in this scale are often referred to as 10-Wide Master Race because of their elitist attitudes towards other scales. Nicknamed “The One True Scale”, 1:38, or the least popular LGP (L-Gauge Proto).