Glossary of player terms

“

Hohoho, hohoho! You got owned! Click to listen — The Scout

”

A number of unofficial terms find regular usage in the game. This glossary of player terms lists some of the more common ones players may see:

General terminology

A

AB

Slang for Airblast.

Aerial/Air shot/Airshot

The hitting or killing of an opponent who is in midair, usually following a juggle.

AFK

Acronym for "Away From Keyboard". This is used to refer to any period of time where a player stands still too long, which often can result in the player being kicked or moved to Spectator in some servers.

Airblast

May refer to:

1. A derogatory term for Offblast, on which the killing potential of the compression blast is substantially higher than normal.
2. Slang for Pyro's compression blast ability.

Airstab

The act of killing an enemy by dropping or falling behind them and backstabbing them as a Spy.

Axtinguished

A colloquialism that describes the critical hit that occurs when a burning enemy is struck by the Axtinguisher.

B

Backcapping/Back-capturing/Backcapture

The act of capturing a Control Point before your team has captured another one, thereby being in a position to immediately capture the point upon its availability.

Banner

A slang term commonly used to refer to one of the Soldier's 3 backpack weapons: the Buff Banner, the Battalion's Backup, or the Concheror.

Battle Engie

An Engineer that engages in combat on the frontlines by placement of Sentry Guns in unexpected locations, offensively using his weapons in a way that a defensive Engineer would not utilise. Frequently, such an Engineer will equip the Gunslinger in the melee slot, since its quick deployment of mini-Sentry Guns makes for a sensible strategy mid-combat. Also referred to as Combat Engie

Battle Medic

A Medic that focuses on killing opponents rather than healing his teammates, likely making use of the Blutsauger or Crusader's Crossbow. Battle Medics that do not supplement fighting with healing or are otherwise unhelpful to the team effort are often looked down upon by teammates, as Medics are expected to fulfill their role as a support class.

BB

May refer to:

1. An acronym meaning "Bye Bye".
2. One of many TF2 items and maps. See BB.

Bills

Abbreviated name of the Bill's Hat.

Bodyshot/Bodyshotting

An attack where a Sniper kills a player by shooting him in the body with a Sniper Rifle. Sometimes a player may deliberately go for a bodyshot because it is more reliable than attempting a headshot. Bodyshotting is often looked down upon by players, as it requires less skill than a headshot.

Bodyshotter

May refer to:

1. A Sniper that repeatedly shoots at the body rather than the head, either to intentionally irritate the enemy or as a general lack of skill.
2. Slang for the Sydney Sleeper, since the weapon cannot deal headshots.

Bomb

May refer to:

1. A synonym for the cart in Payload maps.
2. The bomb from Mann vs Machine mode.
3. Slang for Demoman's weapons.
4. The act of rocket jumping or sticky jumping into or over a group of players, while firing as many explosives at them as possible in order to deal massive damage.

Briefcase

Slang for the Intelligence in Capture the Flag, as referred to in Meet the Spy.

Buds

Abbreviation for the Earbuds.

Buff

May refer to:

1. A charged Buff Banner, Battalion's Backup, or Concheror deployed for use by the team.
2. A Medic's Overhealing ability or the state of a player being overhealed, e.g. player has been "buffed".
3. Slang for a weapon or item's game mechanics being improved or made stronger.

See also: Buff

Bushwhacking

Term for killing a Jarate-covered opponent with the Bushwacka.

C

Camping

The act of staying in one position for long periods of time. This term does not apply to certain situations, such as an Engineer protecting his buildings.

Cap/Capping/Capped

Short for "Capture", "Capturing", and "Captured", respectively. Refers to the completion of an objective such as a control point capture or returning the enemy's Intelligence to one's base.

Carpets/Sticky carpets

Large groups of Stickybombs in one area, making a "carpet" that is difficult to traverse.

Chaincap

Capturing the next point immediately after the previous point has been captured.

Chainsap

May refer to:

1. The rapid placement of Sappers on several buildings at a time
2. The rapid replacement of Sappers on a single building that an Engineer is constantly repairing.

Cheap

An adjective applied to a tactic that is effective at what it's trying to accomplish, yet requires little skill or effort. The term is infamously subjective, and using it lightly is a great way to start an argument.

Chievements/Chieves/Cheevos

Slang terms for achievements.

Circle strafe

The act of moving around an opponent, yet keeping your crosshair locked onto him while attacking.

Civilian

May refer to:

1. The act of abusing certain glitches to make the player go into the reference pose.
2. The Civilian class from Team Fortress Classic that remains unused in Team Fortress 2.

Clean

Refers to the tradability of an item. If an item is clean, then it means that it can be freely traded and has not been gifted.

See also: Trading.

Combat Class

A class whose health and/or firepower is greater in proportion to its speed/mobility, and are often found on the front lines (i.e. Soldier, Heavy, Demoman).

Combat Medic

See Battle Medic.

Comp

Abbreviation of Competitive play.

Courtyard

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the large area that connects the Hayroom, Downstairs (Sink Room), Straight, and Long Hallway in both bases.

Cornering

Fighting an immobile target by strafing out of cover, firing, then strafing back into cover, generally at a corner. This tactic is especially effective against Sentry Guns, as the Sentry Gun's slow turn speed makes it easy to shoot at before it can counter-fire.

CP

Acronym for control point.

Credit to Team

Helpful to the other members of the team. Comes from one of the Heavy's lines when exiting a teleporter - "Engineer is credit to team". Also often used sarcastically when referring to players who are not doing anything to help the team, usually snipers.

Crit

Abbreviation of critical hit.

Crocket/Crawket

A portmanteau of Crit Rocket, infamous for its very large damage output and wide explosive radius.

Crutch

A derogatory term for a weapon that compensates for a player's lack of skill.

Custom Map

A map that has been made by a member of the TF2 community, yet has not been inducted into the game officially.

D

D'axtingreaser

The name given to a loadout containing both the Pyro's Degreaser and the Axtinguisher.

DC

Synonym for "disconnected" or "disconnect".

Deathmatch/DM

May refer to:

1. A server running Control Point or Capture the Flag, but with custom maps that have made the Intellegence or Control Points deactivated or inaccessible.
2. An unofficial game mode where the main goal is to kill the most players before time runs out.
3. An unofficial term for Arena Mode.
4. Two players or teams that are battling each other, E.G. to the death.

Demo

May refer to:

1. A demo recording.
2. The Demoman

Demoknight

A Demoman wielding the Chargin' Targe or Splendid Screen whilst actively using their melee weapon. Demoknights wielding the Bottle may be referred to as "Bottleknights", whereas Demoknights wielding the Sticky Jumper may be referred to as "Jumperknights" or "Rocketknights".

Demomortar

A Demoman launching Stickybombs onto a far away Engineer nest in an attempt to destroy it. The high-arced trajectory needed to accomplish this makes it somewhat resemble mortar cannon fire. Most often used in reference to TFBot Demomen, who have been observed performing this stunt at extreme ranges and/or abnormal accuracy.

Demopan

A Demoman carrying the Frying Pan, Bounty Hat, Chargin' Targe, and Dangeresque, Too?, referring to a popular community fad.

Demospam

A Demoman shooting sticky bombs or grenades where he/she thinks that players will likely be without actually taking aim at a specific player.

Det Jockey

A person who uses the Pyro's Detonator, Degreaser, Powerjack, and Attendant in the same loadout.

DH

Acronym for the Soldier's Direct Hit unlock.

Dirty

Refers to the tradability of an item. Usually refers to the inability of an item to be crafted, however some players would refer to an item that is unable be freely traded and instead requires Gift Wrap to transfer it, an item that has been gifted by another player, or any item that was purchased as dirty.

See also: Trading.

Divebomb

May refer to:

1. See Bomb
2. The use of the Ullapool Caber in conjunction with a sticky jump.

DR

Acronym for the Spy's Dead Ringer unlock. In some contexts, it could be used as a signal that an enemy Spy equipped with the Dead Ringer is nearby.

Dr. Enforcicle

A label for a Spy who uses the Dead Ringer, Enforcer, and the Spy-cicle together. The term is a Portmanteau of the latter two weapons with the Dead Ringer's common abbreviation DR used at the beginning.

Dr. Enforcicorder

A label for a Spy who uses the Dr. Enforcicle load out along with the Red-Tape Recorder.

Drop

May refer to:

1. Any item given to a player by the item drop system.
2. The failure of a Medic to deploy an ÜberCharge before dying, despite being fully charged.

E

Edging

See Cornering

Engie/Engy/Engi

Abbreviation for the Engineer.

Engy Farm/Engy Nest/Sentry Farm

Slang terms used to describe a position where one or more Engineers have set up multiple Buildings, often in the same location.

F

F2P

May refer to:

1. A term used to describe new players who have yet to upgrade to a Premium account.
2. Acronym for the Free to Play update.
3. Anything that can be easily acquired by F2P users, E.G. the Ghastly Gibus.

Facestab

A Spy's knife attack that registers as a backstab despite appearing to hit their opponent's front due to lag compensation.

See also: Backstab Issues

Failstab

May refer to:

1. A backstab or trickstab attempt that fails due to any reason.
2. A knife attack that registers as a normal hit despite being aimed at an opponent's back due to lag compensation.

Fail-A-Nature

A derogatory term for the Scout's Force-A-Nature unlock, and/or players who use it.

FAN/FaN

Acronym for the Scout's Force-A-Nature unlock.

Farming

The act of obtaining something more rapidly over time than was originally intended. May refer to:

1. Obtaining achievements through achievement servers or in ways outside of regular gameplay.
2. Using idling or other methods to obtain hats or weapons via the item drop system.
3. Rapidly ranking up a Strange weapon in specific servers or maps that are designed to do so.

Fat Scout

Refers to a Heavy who primarily uses either the Shotgun or the Family Business to kill people.

Flag

Synonym for the Intelligence in Capture the Flag maps.

Flare Jockey

A person who equips the Flare Gun,Degreaser, Attendant, and Powerjack in the same loadout.

Flying Scotsman

A Demoman who actively uses the Sticky Jumper, often in conjunction with the Ullapool Caber.

Field of View/FOV

A term to describe how much a player can see onscreen at a time.

FoW

An abbreviation for the Scout's Fan O'War.

Frag

Synonym for "kill", most often used when the player has been gibbed. Can be used in a variety of contexts, such as "Typefrag" or "Tauntfrag"

Frag Video

Refers to a video that records a player's kills or gameplay. Often used to display impressive feats or achievements that would take great skill to do.

G

G.R.U./GRU

Acronym for the Heavy's Gloves of Running Urgently unlock.

GG

Acronym for "Good game". Can also be used sarcastically when an enemy team completely fails at their objective.

GL

Acronym for "Good luck".

GLHF

Acronym for "Good luck have fun"

GR

Acronym For "Good Round". Often used in 'best of' games when more than one round is played.

Goggles

May refer to:

1. Any goggle-related item.
2. Pyrovision Goggles.

Goomba Stomp

May refer to:

1. A server mod that allows players to kill enemies by jumping on their heads without use of the Mantreads.
2. Killing another player by jumping on their head with the Mantreads.
3. Landing on another player's head in mid-air and killing them with any weapon. [1].

Griefing

Deliberately causing annoyance to players on the server, whether your team or the enemy team.

GTG

Acronym for "Got to go", signifying that a player is leaving. Sometimes written as G2G.

H

Hale

May refer to:

1. Saxton Hale
2. The boss in VS Saxton Hale Mode, where the boss can be Christian Brutal Sniper, Horseless Headless Horsemann, Vagineer, or Saxton Hale.

Halo-caust

A slang term used to reference the September 2, 2009 event where Valve penalized players who had been using Steamstats to idle. As a result, many servers (primarily those run by people that didn't get halos) began opting "anti-halo" policies, even going so far as to use mods that changed the halo to form various insults targeting the wearer. The term is derived from the nickname for the halo that non-offending players received, placed in combination with a reference to the Holocaust.

Hayroom

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the room in front of the primary resupply/spawn room for both teams. So named because it contains little more than hay.

Heavy Class

See Combat Class.

Helium

Refers to a player that has a high-pitched voice, most often young children. Helium can also refer to voice-modification software that makes the player's voice higher-pitched than normal.

HHH

An abbreviation for the Horseless Headless Horsemann.

HHH Axe/HHHH

An abbreviation for the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker May sometimes be said as UHHHH, noting the Unusual Quality of the item.

HLDJ/HLSS

Half Life D.J. (Disc Jockey) and Half Life Sound System, respectively. Programs used to play music and other sounds via voice chat, and are often used for mic spamming.

Hoovy/Hooby

Slang term for Heavy, often used in a silly manner.

House

Slang term for point B of Gravel Pit.

Huntspam/Lucksman

Terms used to describe players who use the Huntsman weapon unlock for the Sniper. Its 'lucky' qualities are attributed to the arrow's large projectile hitbox and quick travel time over long distances.

HUWAR/HOUWAR

Abbreviation for the Hat of Undeniable Wealth And Respect.

I

Idler

May refer to:

1. Someone who is present on the server but is deliberately AFK for a long period of time to earn items via the item drop system.
2. Someone who uses external idling programs or uses idling servers for the same purpose.

See also: Idling.

Instakill

A kill which is inflicted in a single hit, such as out-of-bounds fall damage, being hit by a Train, or being caught in the Payload explosion.

Intel

Abbreviation for the Intelligence in Capture the Flag maps.

J

Juggling

Refers to the use of weapons to suspend enemies in the air.

K

Katana

Alternative term for the Half-Zatoichi.

KDR/K/D/KADR

Acronym for "Kill-Death Ratio" or "Kill Assist Death Ratio". May be expressed as a ratio (27 Kills:7 Deaths) or a decimal number (1.75 KDR). Medics will often present their KDR as a ratio of assists to deaths, as kills are not usually accumulated in conventional Medic play.

K.G.B./KGB

Acronym for the Killing Gloves of Boxing.

Kitchen Warrior

A Soldier wearing the Stainless Pot with the Frying Pan equipped.

Knock back/Knockback

The movement of a player, caused by an outside source. Often associated with weapons such as the Force-A-Nature,

See Knock back.

Kritcharge/Kritz/Kritzed

Slang for the Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge, or being subjected to one.

L

Lag

The effect experienced by players who display erratic movement due to a poor framerate or server connection.

See Lag compensation.

Lag Warping

An extreme form of Lag compensation, in which a player appears to be teleporting from place to place due to extreme latency.

Last

Abbreviation of "Last Control Point". Used on both Payload and Control Point maps.

LF

Acronym for "Looking for", indicating that a player is looking for a particular item or clan/team.

Lowball

To propose a relatively lower-valued offer when trading items. For example, offering 2 Refined Metal for an item worth 3 Refined can be considered a lowball.

Lucks-and-Lolz

Slang term for the Loch-n-Load, due to its Direct Hit-esque nature that only makes it effective in skilled hands.

Lucksman/Huntspam

Derogatory terms used to describe the Huntsman, or the spamming of Huntsman arrows. Its 'lucky' qualities are attributed to the arrow's large hitbox range and quick travel time over long distances.

M

Macro/Macros

Using a key bind, .cfg file (see scripting), or external program to automate an in-game process to make it faster or easier. While examples can be auto-rocket jump or auto re-disguise as Spy scripts, the term "macro" usually refers to the use of such scripts to quickly say a chat message without typing it. These can be useful for quick communication with the team, i.e. the 'b' key can be bound to make the player say in text chat, "Let's capture control point B."

Mail's Here

An insult used when someone on fire has been killed by the Postal Pummeler.

Marked

Used to signal teammates that an enemy has been hit by the Fan O'War, thus making all damage he recieves mini-crits.

Meatshot

When all of the pellets fired from spread weapons such as the Shotgun or Scattergun hit the target, thereby doing massive damage. The term was made famous by Daniel "carnagejohnson" Sturdivant.

Mecha spam

Slang for the rapid building of Sentry Guns, most often Mini-Sentry Guns.

Mic/Mike

A microphone, used for communication over voice chat.

Micspam

Originally described as the act of repeatedly playing sounds, music, or generally abusing the game's voice chat feature. It has since grown to include all manner of sound playing, both positively and negatively. Third party software is often used to accomplish this, including HLDJ and Virtual Audio Cable. Micspam can be considered griefing by many, and some servers enact strict policies against it. However, other servers, known as "Micspam Servers", welcome this, allowing players to entertain the server population and share their audio collections during regular play.

Positive aspects of micspam may include:

1. Playing various music for the server.
2. Playing comedic soundbites from TV shows, movies, standup acts, and more.
3. Playing appropriate sound files on specific occasions for humorous effect, e.g. playing "Guile's Theme" when a team wins/loses.

Negative uses of micspam may include:

1. Repeatedly playing the same audio file to intentionally cause annoyance.
2. Playing sounds that are high in bass/volume and can potentially damage other people's speakers.
3. Creating noise by singing, blowing into the microphone, or simply talking incessantly in order to disrupt others.
4. Using voice modification software to manipulate one's voice to sound either extremely high pitched or robotic in order to disrupt others.

Mid

Abbreviation of "Middle control point". Used on 5 point Control Point maps.

Middie

A slang term used to describe mid-air hits with projectile weapons, usually with the Rocket Launcher, Direct Hit, Grenade Launcher, or the Loch-n-Load.

See also: Aerial

MvM

Short for Mann vs. Machine.

N

Nades

Abbreviation of "grenades", referring to the projectiles fired from the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Nerf

A term used to describe a weapon or item that has been downgraded or had its capabilities reduced. Typically weapons are "nerfed" for gameplay balance reasons, i.e. the item is significantly overpowered or provides too great an advantage over other players.

Ninja

May refer to:

1. A Spy wielding the Conniver's Kunai.
2. Colloquial of stealing something; generally a capture point or a typed response.

See also: Back-capping

No-Scope

A kill or shot gained by shooting the Sniper Rifle without zooming in.

N00b/Noob/Nub/Newb/Newbie/N00blet/Nooblet

A derogatory term used to imply that a player is new to the game and/or unskilled. "Noob" and its homophones are generally considered to be more offensive, denoting someone with a lack of skill attributable to a deeper level than simple inexperience. "Newb", however, may be used by an individual when describing themselves or as a non-offensive description of a new player who, although lacking experience, is willing to learn from more experienced players.

Noobforcer

Derogatory term for the Spy's Enforcer.

O

OMGWTFBBQ

May refer to:

1. A Pyro Achievement, where the Pyro kills an enemy with its Hadouken taunt.
2. An Internet expression with the combined acronyms OMG, WTF, and BBQ. Used to convey great shock or surprise.

OP

Acronym for "Over Powered", in reference to game balance.

Owned/Pwned

A term applied to a player that has been defeated in a humiliating or effortless fashion.

P

P-Vision

Short for Pyrovision

Pimp Hat

Slang term for the Hustler's Hallmark hat for the Demoman

Pipebomb/Pipes

Alternate name for the projectiles fired by the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Pills

Alternative name for the projectiles fired by the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Piss

Slang for the Sniper's Jarate unlock.

Pissrifle/Pissgun

Slang for the Sniper's Sydney Sleeper.

Pit

May refer to:

1. The bottomless pit in front of spawn and at another location at Decoy, which can be used by Pyros using the Compression Blast to push Robots carrying the bomb into the pit, resetting the bomb.
2. The final area in Badwater Basin

Pocket

May refer to:

1. A player who is being pocketed by a Medic.
2. A Medic who heals one player, and prioritizes on that player only without regularly healing others.

Poor and Irish

A description used for a player who does not own any hats or items of value, coined by the Gentle Manne of Leisure within a hidden update page.

Pootis

A slang term deviated from the Heavy quote: "Put Dispenser here"

PoV demo

A recorded demo that has been recorded from the player's point of view.

Pro

May refer to:

1. A term used when a skilled move has been executed.
2. An accomplished player, often one who specializes in competitive play.
3. Players with an above average amount of skill who has no competitive experience.

Pub

May refer to:

1. A player who does not play TF2 competitively.
2. A public server, E.G. one that doesn't require a password, or is non-competitive.

Pub stomp

A practice in which multiple experienced or competitive players join a public server with the intention of winning in a spectacular fashion, often as a means of displaying dominance.

Puff

Slang for the Pyro's compression blast ability.

Puff'n'Flare

A variation on the Puff'n'Sting, but with the follow up completed with the Flare Gun instead of the Axtinguisher.

Puff'n'Shoot

A variation on the Puff'n'Sting, but with the follow up completed with the Reserve Shooter instead of the Axtinguisher.

Puff'n'Sting

A technique whereby a Pyro lights an enemy on fire with the Flamethrower, uses the compression blast to shove them against a wall, and then switches to the Axtinguisher for the kill. This technique may also be used with any melee weapon.

Push

May refer to:

1. The CTF map Push from Team Fortress Classic
2. The act of advancing the cart.
3. An organized attack in which several players simultaneously move into enemy territory and attack in an attempt to overpower an enemy's defensives and complete an objective, such as capturing a control point or advancing the cart. Often accompanied by an ÜberCharge

Pybro

A Pyro, often wielding the Homewrecker, who stays with an Engineer, helping him by checking for Spies, airblasting projectiles, and removing Sappers.

Pyrocar

Synonym of W+M1. The term was created after a player decided to play Pyro with a racecar periphial, literally becoming a "Pyro car" [2]

Q

QQ

A slang originating from Warcraft 2 where 'alt'+'Q'+'Q' would quit the client, but is nowadays interpreted as a pair of crying eyes. Often used in a deriding manner, e.g. "QQ more".

See BarbeQueQ.

Quick Scope

Zooming in and instantaneously headshotting with the Sniper Rifle.

Quickie

Slang for the Quick-Fix.

R

Rage

May refer to:

1. The "Rage" meter a Soldier builds up when using the Buff Banner, Battalion's Backup, or Concheror unlock.
2. When a player becomes angry while playing (see also Ragequit).
3. The Knockback Rage ability the Heavy may buy as an upgrade in Mann vs. Machine.

Rage Heavy

A term used for a player who uses the Heavy as a last ditch effort after a losing streak or bout of frustration, hoping to use his large firepower to gain easy kills.

Can also be used with other classes, most commonly Pyro after suffering a streak of backstab deaths. E.G. "Rage Pyro".

Ragequit

Slang for a player disconnecting from a server, presumably out of frustration, anger, or humiliation associated with a losing streak. Often used in abbreviated form, rq.

Rambo Medic

See Battle Medic.

Random Crits

Commonly used description to describe when the game has gifted a player a period of critical hits, or a single critical hit. Used both as an acknowledgement and in frustration when a fight may be over somewhat prematurely ("Sorry, man! Random crits!")

Rec

Shorthand for Reclaimed Metal.

Reflects / Reflect Kill / Reflecting

An alternative term for successful use of the Pyro's Compression Blast.

Ref

Shorthand for Refined Metal.

Revving

Spinning up the Heavy's Minigun using the alternate-fire button. May also refer to the delay experienced when the Minigun is spun up prior to shooting using the primary fire button.

RTD/Roll The Dice

An unofficial server plugin that allows players to "roll the dice" using a command. Upon rolling the dice, players are granted some form of benefit or handicap, such as unlimited crits or being frozen in place for a short period of time, respectively.

RTV/Rock The Vote

In servers running a RTV plug-in, Rocking the Vote occurs when a majority of the players on the server vote to play a different map.

Rush

See Rush.

Revengineer

An Engineer with both the Frontier Justice and Gunslinger equipped.

S

Sap'n'Stab

Slang for a technique wherein a Spy lures an Engineer to a building by sapping it, then killing him as returns to repair it, often with a backstab.

Scout Rush

A rush making use entirely of Scouts.

Scoot

Slang term for Scout, often used in a silly fashion. (similar to "Hoovy")

Scrapbanking

Refers to the practice of trading two unwanted, craftable weapons in exchange for one scrap, and vice-versa.

Scramble

Refers to a random rearranging of teams in order to prevent or stop team stacking.

Sentry/SG/Sentry Gun/Gun/Turret

An Engineer's Sentry Gun.

Sentry Farm

A position on a map where multiple Engineers have set up their Sentry Guns in close proximity. See also Engy Farm.

Shack

A term used to refer to the various one-room huts scattered across TF2's maps, including the ones on Gravel Pit, Steel, and Dustbowl.

Shotty

A slang term for the Shotgun.

Sidestab

An alternate name for a spinstab.

Snoipah

Slang for the Sniper

Solly

Slang for the Soldier.

Spamming/Spam

Can refer to:

1. The act of deliberately concentrating firepower within particular area in an attempt to get kills or deter enemy players from entering an area,
2. Wanton firing of weapons such as the Grenade Launcher with little or no deliberate aim,
3. An unwanted abundance of something such as chat messages, a specific class, or a certain tactic in the game, the latter sometimes called "whoring".

See Spamming.

Spawn

The area in which the player initially spawns and/or any area in which they respawn.

Spawn Camping/Spawn-camping

A situation in which one team is camping the other team's spawn point, which results in killing players as they attempting to enter or depart. Commonly considered to be a "cheap" tactic.

See Camping.

Any class who stays in front of their spawn doors (usually Sniper or Heavy), only shooting enemies in their line of sight, and constantly going to their Resupply Cabinet whenever they are in danger.

See Camping.

Abbreviation for spectate.

Specs

May refer to:

1. Slang for Deus Specs.
2. Nickname for weapon attributes.
3. Slang for any glasses miscellaneous items.

Spiral

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the Spiral-shaped corridor leading down from the Hayroom towards the Intelligence area.

Spire

Map-specific to Badlands. Refers to the rock spire where the second and fourth control points sit.

Spah

Slang term for a Spy, often used in a silly fashion. (similar to "Scoot") Based off of how the Engineer's Southern accent affects "Spy".

Spy Cap/Spycap

A strategy where a Spy will lurk near a locked control point (usually the final point because of the accelerated control point timing) with the intentions of capturing it as soon as it is unlocked and before the enemy team has time to retreat from defending the previous point.

Spy checking/Spycheck

The act of "checking" teammates and/or a specific area for Spies. It usually refers to Pyros attempting to detect enemy Spies by using the Flamethrower on other members of their team, but Spy checking can also be done by other classes by firing upon teammates.

See Spy checking.

Spycrab/Spy Crab

Can refer to:

1. A Spy that imitates the movement of a crab by crouching and looking up while having the Disguise Kit equipped. Also refers to a taunt associated with the Disguise Kit, which is in and of itself a reference to the spycrab movement. It has then became a popular fad.
2. A form of gambling in which participants are Spies and taunt with the Disguise Kit at the same time. If the player performs the "Spycrab" taunt, they are out. This continues until there is only one person left.

Spygineer

May refer to:

1. Portmanteau for a Spy disguised as a Engineer.
2. Referring to a short-lived bug in which the Spy was able to build Dispensers.

Spyro

Portmanteau for a Spy disguised as a Pyro.

Squeaker

Refers to a young child who uses his/her microphone often, usually annoying others with a high-pitched and sometimes squeaky voice.

SR/Sco Res

Acronym for the Demoman's Scottish Resistance.

Stab'n'Sap

Slang for a technique whereby a Spy backstabs an Engineer from behind, then immediately switches to the Sapper and saps the Engineer's Sentry Gun before it kills him.

Stacking/Team-Stacking

Refers to one team being composed of players who work together and/or are more skilled than the other. The most common case is on a public server, having one team of competitive or skilled players against one that is less experienced or poorly organized. Can also be used when one team has an abundance of bots, especially on maps for which the bots have no programmed AI and therefore stay in spawn doing nothing.

Stairstab/Jumpstab

The act of jumping over another player's head from an elevated height as a Spy and backstabbing them before they can respond.

Steam-rolling/Steamrolling

Used to describe an unfair match-up between teams that are of completely different skill levels, resulting in quick rounds. Similar to stacking.

Stickies/Stickys

Slang for Stickybombs.

Straight

Map-specific to 2Fort. Refers to the straight staircase leading down to the third resupply room. Sometimes referred to as L-shaft.

Sword and Board

Another name for Demoknight. It refers to a Demoman who uses both the Chargin' Targe and Eyelander at the same time.

T

Targe

A Demoman using the Chargin' Targe or Splendid Screen to attack the enemy.

Tele/TP

Abbreviation for an Engineer's Teleporter.

Teabag/T-Bag

The action of countinuously crouching over a ragdoll.

Telefrag

Portmanteau of teleport and frag – killing an opponent by teleporting into them when they are standing on a teleporter exit. The term comes from id Software's seminal first-person shooter Doom. May have been taken from the Developer console referring to the kill as a telefrag.

See Telefrag.

TF2

Abbreviation for Team Fortress 2.

Tomigruvich

A term referring to players that use the Heavy loadout consisting of the Tomislav, Sandvich, and the GRU.

Tower

Term used to refer to the final point of Gravel Pit or the center tower in Hightower.

Turtling

"Digging in" and employing extremely defensive tactics. May also refer to Engineer setting up a Sentry Gun and Dispenser next to each other, and then remaining in close proximity for a substantial period of time while constantly repairing the buildings.

Typefrag/Typekill

Killing an opponent that is typing in chat.

Trickstab

A term referring to when a Spy takes advantage of the terrain to backstab a enemy who has discovered his true identity. This includes stairstabs, cornerstabs, leapstabs, and matadorstabs.

Trolldier

A label for a Soldier who uses the Rocket Jumper, Shotgun/Mantreads, and the Market Gardener together.

Trolling

Trolling is an inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic message in an online chat, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Troll

A troll is an internet user who posts rude or provocative posts in chats, which insults its users.

Tryhard

A derogatory term used to refer to a player who will resort to any tactic necessary to achieve victory.

TS

An acronym for the Team Spirit paint.

U

Über/Invuln/Charge

Abbreviation for ÜberCharge.

Übered

Someone who is being ÜberCharged.

UHHHH

An abbreviation for the Unusual Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker (sometimes seen as just "HHHH").

UP

Acronym for "Under Powered", in reference to game balance.

V

Vanilla

A loadout consisting entirely of Stock weapons.

A server without any mods installed.

V [Hat/Weapon]

Vintage items.

VRH

The Virtual Reality Headset.

W

W+M1

Literally, "Forward (Default key W) and MOUSE1" - a derogatory term applied to a suicidally aggressive Pyro, often connotative of a lack of skill. It refers to Pyros who rush mindlessly (W) and fire their primary weapon (M1) without trying to flank or strategize with teammates. It also applies to the Heavy who plays like the Pyro, moving forward and continously firing his Minigun without thinking about his teammates.

W+M2

Literally, "Forward (Default key W) and MOUSE2" - derived from "W+M1", the term is similarly used to refer to Pyro players who only use the compression blast ability to reflect projectiles without using the Flamethrower's primary fire attack.

Wallhugging/Wallhugger

Tactical slang for a Sniper hiding behind walls and only revealing himself when attacking.

Warp/Warping

An extreme form of Lag compensation in which a player seems to be teleporting from place to place due to extreme latency.

Winbombing

Somewhat derogatory term applied to using the Stickybomb Launcher offensively by exploding stickies in midair and/or quickly shooting and detonating stickies.

Wrenching

The act of repairing/upgrading a building with the Wrench.

The act of killing a Spy with the Wrench.

Wep

Abbreviation for weapon, used in trading discussion.

WTB

Acronym for "Want/Willing To Buy", indicating that a player is seeking a particular item.

WTS

Acronym for "Want/Willing To Sell", indicating that a player is selling a particular item.

WTT

Acronym for "Want/Willing To Trade", indicating that a player has a particular item trade in mind.

Y

YER

Acronym for the Spy's Your Eternal Reward.

Competitive terminology

These are some of the terms which players use in competitive gameplay.

B

Blandlands

Shortened as "Blands", a term used by players referring to Badlands. This is only used by players not wishing to play the map, commonly because they have probably played the map a number of times in a short space of time.

Bombing

A derogatory term referring to when a Soldier rocket jumps above the enemy and shoots at the Medic in order to either force ÜberCharge or to get him killed.

C

Comms

Short for communication. This refers to players communicating to each other either by using the in-game text chat or through voice chat, or more commonly an outside voice over IP (VoIP) program such as Mumble or Ventrilo.

D

Destroyed

Similar to Lit, players use this term to describe that an enemy player has taken a bunch of damage and is usually one hit from being killed.

E

ETF2L

Acronym for European Team Fortress 2 League. It is the central hub of the European competitive TF2 scene.

See ETF2L.

ESEA

Acronym for E-Sports Entertainment, a paid 6's league in North America. Generally, the highest skill players are in this league.

See ESEA.

G

G-Pit

Shortened for Gravel Pit.

Granlands

Refers to the two most popular maps used in competitive play: Badlands and Granary. This term is usually used in PuGs when the teams agree to play two maps, e.g. "Which maps did you guys want to do?", "Granlands?", "Sure".

H

Highlander

A competitive match type wherein the nine-player roster of each team consists of one of every TF2 class.

L

Lit

To be low on health. Commonly used when referring to opponents, although priority friendly classes such as the Demoman and pocket will use this term when calling for a Medic.

See also "Tagged".

Lobby

Refers to the website TF2Lobby. A popular website used to organize pickup games.

O

Offclassing

A technique involving deviation from the standard competitive class roster, often to accomplish a specific objective or eliminate a specific enemy player.

P

Pop

A synonym for "Use an Über"; for example the phrase "They popped" means "They used their Über". Can also be used in phrases such as "Pop the Über" or "Pop it!".

PUG/Mix

Acronym for "pick up game/group", referring to a private game with team compositions determined by out-of-game communication (as opposed to a clan match or pub).

Pick

Getting a "pick" on someone means you focused on a certain class (like a Medic) and killed that class individually.

R

Roamer

Refers to the Soldier that is not pocketing the Medic. Roamer's typical primary mission is to take out the enemy Medic or to force an early Ubercharge.

Rollout

The specific path that a player takes on the way to the middle capture point. It is designed to get the player to that point as quickly as possible or to provide another strategic advantage.

S

Scrim/Skirmish

A practice match between two teams. Usually played in the competitive 6v6 format or the 9v9 Highlander format.

Steamroll

Sometimes referred to simply as a "roll", the term is figurative language describing a very fast completion of the game's objective after it begins, often in relation to a "crushing defeat".

Sticks/Stickies

Refers to Stickybombs. Usually used to warn teammates of a sticky trap or that they are on an important location, e.g., "Sticks on cap!" meaning "There are stickies on the control point!".

T

Tagged

When an enemy has been severely hit with a single shot, usually shots dealing damage of 60hp and above, e.g. "The Medic is tagged for 70", meaning the enemy Medic has taken 70 damage.

See also "Lit".

U

UGC

Acronym for United Gaming Clans. It is a league that hosts competitive TF2 tournaments.

External links

• Internet slang on Wiktionary
• urbandictionary.com