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 lists some of the more common ones players may see:

General Terminology

A

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.

Aerial / Air shot / Airshot

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

Airstab

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

Airblast / Compblast

Slang for Pyro's compression blast ability.

B

Backcapping / Back-capturing / Backcapture

See back-capping.

Bodyshot / Bodyshotting

An attack where a Sniper deliberately disregards attempting a headshot and instead aims for an enemy's body, usually with a charged shot. Often looked down on by professional Snipers.

Bodyshotter

A Sniper that repeatedly bodyshots to intentionally irritate the enemy.

Slang for the Sydney Sleeper, since the weapon can't deal headshot criticals.

Bomb

Synonym for the Cart in Payload modes.

BRB

Acronym for "Be Right Back".

Buff

Term meaning a change in a player's status, which can include:

1. A Medic's Overhealing ability, or the state of a player being overhealed (player has been "buffed"),
2. Slang for a weapon or item's game mechanics being improved or made stronger (antonym: nerf),
3. A charged Buff Banner or Battalion's Backup ready for deployment.

Bunny hopping / bhopping

An Exploit common to all Source games where a player can use timed jumps and a specific rotation to move faster than normal. This has been fixed in the Orange Box engine.

C

Camping / Spawn Camping

See article.

Cap, Capping, Capped

A Control Point capture, the point itself or the act of capturing a control point.

Carpets / Sticky Carpets

Large groups of Sticky Bombs that render certain areas impassable until dealt with.

Cheap

An adjective applied to a tactic that is effective but requires little skill or effort. Frequent use of these tactics is commonly known as "spamming".

Chievements

Slang term for Achievements.

Circle strafe

Running around an opponent in a circular pattern and shooting while maintaining a lock on him.

Crit(s)

Abbreviation of Critical hit.

Crocket

Portmanteau of a critical-boosted Rocket.

Crit ÜberCharge

Slang for a Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge or, when used as a verb, being subjected to one.

D

DC / D/C

Synonym for "disconnected" or "disconnect".

Demo

May refer to:

1. A Demoman,
2. A demo recording.

Demoknight

A Demoman wielding the Chargin' Targe whilst actively using their melee weapon; commonly the Eyelander , Scotsman's Skullcutter or Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker. Demoknights wielding the Bottle may be referred to as Bottleknights.

DH

Acronym for the Soldier's Direct Hit unlock.

DM / DeathMatch

An unofficial game mode wherein the main goal is to kill the most players. May also refer to a map running Control Point or Capture the Flag, but has had the required entities removed or placed out of reach. Also used to refer to Arena mode.

DR

Acronym for the Spy's Dead Ringer unlock. In some contexts, it could also be a signal to their team members that an enemy Spy equipped with the Dead Ringer is nearby.

E

Engie / Engy /Engi

Abbreviation for the Engineer.

F

Facestab

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

See also: Backstab: Issues.

Failstab

A knife attack that registers as a normal hit, despite being aimed at an opponent's back.

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. Could refer to:

1. Obtaining achievements en masse,
2. Using idling or other methods to obtain hats or weapons via the item drop system.

Flag

Synonym for the Intelligence in Capture the Flag maps.

G

G.R.U

Abbreviation for the Gloves of Running Urgently.

Griefing

Causing grief or annoying other players for fun.

See article.

H

Huntspam / Lucksman / Arrow Spam

Terms for the Huntsman, its 'lucky' qualities being attributed to the arrow's overly-large hitbox.

H.W.G

abbreviation for Heavy Weapons Guy.

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.

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 "flag" in Capture the Flag maps.

J

Juggling

Launching opponents into the air through various means.

K

KDR / (K/D) / KADR

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

K.G.B

Acronym for the Killing Gloves of Boxing.

Knock back / Knockback

An effect from weapons that knock back opponents.

Kritcharge / Kritz / Kritzed

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

L

Lag

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

Leeching

A Disguised Spy gaining health from an enemy Medic, Dispenser or Payload cart.

LF

Acronym for "Looking For" indicating that a player is looking for a particular item or a Clan.

M

Meatshot

When all of the pellets fired from weapons such as the Shotgun or Scattergun hit the target, thereby doing massive damage.

Mic / Mike

A microphone, used for communication over voice chat.

Micspam

The act of repeatedly playing sounds, music, or generally abusing the game's voice chat feature. This may involve:

1. Using external software to stream sound files,
2. Creating noise by singing, blowing into the microphone, or simply talking incessantly in order to disrupt others

This is generally considered griefing, and is frowned upon. However, some servers, known as "Micspam Servers", welcome this, allowing players to play music clips to entertain the general population.

N

Nades

Projectiles fired from the Demoman's Grenade Launcher.

Nest

The collectivized area of an Engineer and his buildings.

Ninja

Colloquial of stealing something; generally a Capture Point, or a typed response.

See also: Back-capping

N00b / Noob / Nub / Newb / Newbie

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.

O

OMGWTFBBQ

An Internet acronym expressing great shock and amazement. Also the name of a Pyro achievement

OP

Acronym for "overpowered", in reference to game balance.

Owned / Pwned

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

P

Pipebomb

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

Piss

Slang for the Sniper's Jarate unlock.

Poof / Poofing / Puff

Slang for the Pyro's compression blast ability.

Poofer

Term for the normal Flamethrower which has the compression blast ability (see above).

Poor and Irish

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

Pub

Abbreviation for "public server".

Pubber

A derogatory term for a player that frequents public servers.

Puff'n'Sting

A technique whereby a Pyro lights an enemy with the Flamethrower, uses the compression blast to shove them against a wall (the 'puff') and then switches to the Axtinguisher for the kill (the 'sting').

R

Rage

Term that refers to the "Rage" meter a Soldier builds up when using the Buff Banner or Battalion's Backup unlock. Can also refer to when a player becomes angry while playing (see Ragequit).

Ragequit

Slang for a player disconnecting from a server, presumably out of frustration, anger, or humiliation associated with a losing streak.

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 detriment, such as unlimited Crits or being frozen in place for a short period.

RTV / Rock The Vote

In servers running an RTV plug-in, Rocking the Vote is when a majority of the players can start a vote for a new map..

Rush

See article.

S

SG / Sentry / Sentry Gun / Gun / Turret

An Engineer's Sentry Gun.

Sidestab

An alternate name for Spinstab.

Sol / Solly

A Soldier.

Spamming / Spam

Can refer to:

1. The act of deliberately concentrating firepower within particular area in an attempt to get kills,
2. An unwanted abundance of something such as chat messages, a specific class, or a certain tactic in the game,

Spawn

The area in which you initially spawn and/or any area in which you respawn.

Spawn Camping / Spawn-camping

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

Spec

Abbreviation for Spectate.

Spy-checking

The act of "checking" teammates and/or a specific area for Spies. Most commonly used to refer to Pyros attempting to detect enemy Spies by using the Flamethrower on other members of their team.

Spy Crab

A Spy that imitates the movement of a crab by crouching and looking up while having the Disguise Kit equipped. Also refers to the same taunt associated with the Disguise Kit.

Spyro

Portmanteau for a Spy disguised as a Pyro.

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 Electro Sapper and saps their Sentry Gun and other buildings before the enemy Engineer can respawn. May also refer to a technique in which a Spy backstabs an Engineer in close proximity to a Sentry Gun, immediately switches to the Electro Sapper, and then saps the Sentry Gun before being killed by it.

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.

Stickies

Slang for Sticky Bombs.

Sword and Board

Another name for Demoknight.

T

Tele / TP

Abbreviation for an Engineer's Teleporter.

Telefrag

Portmanteau of Teleport and Frag -- killing a opponent by teleporting into them when they are standing on a teleporter exit. The term comes from the early days of online deathmatches in id Software's seminal first-person shooter Quake (video game).

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.

U

Über / Invuln / Charge

Abbreviation for ÜberCharge.

Übered

Someone who is being ÜberCharged.

UP

Acronym for "underpowered", in reference to game balance.

W

W+M1

Literally, "Forward (Default key "W") and Mouse 1" - a derogatory term applied to a suicidally aggressive Pyro, often connotative of a lack of skill.

W+M2

Literally, "Forward (Default key "W") and Mouse 2" - 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

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

Wrenching

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

May also be used to refer to the act of killing a Spy.

WTB

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

WTS

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

WTT

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

Competitive Terminology

These are some of the terms which you may face in competitive modes of gameplay such as TF2lobby or ETF2L matches.

L

Lit

To be low on health. Used when referring to opponents.

P

Pocket

The player that defends the Medic and is their primary healing target.

PUG/Mix

Antonym 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).

R

Rollout

The way team members increase their speed to a point, usually the first cap of the game.

S

Scrim / Skirmish

A focused multiplayer match, often between clans.

Steamroll

Figurative language describing a very fast completion of the the game's objective after it begins, often in relation to a "crushing defeat".

External links

• Internet slang on Wiktionary
• urbandictionary.com