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

Aerial/Air shot/Airshot

A shot that hits an opponent who is in midair, usually following a juggle.

Airblast/AB

Slang for compression blast.

Airstab

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

Axtinguish

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

B

Backcapping/Back-capturing/Backcapture

Capturing a control point behind the enemy team, often while that team is attempting to capture a point whose possession changes more slowly. For example, sneaking in to take the final capture point, which on many maps changes possession very quickly, while the opposing team is attempting to retake their second point.

Banner

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

Battle/Combat Engineer

An Engineer that engages in combat on the frontlines, placing Sentry Guns in unexpected locations and using his primary weapon in an offensive manner. Such an Engineer will frequently equip the Gunslinger for its ability to quickly deploy Combat Mini-Sentry Guns.

Battle/Combat Medic

A Medic that focuses on killing opponents rather than healing teammates. 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

One of many TF2 items and maps, such as the Buff Banner or Battalion's Backup.

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. A player may deliberately go for a bodyshot because it is more reliable than attempting a headshot.

Bodyshotter

May refer to:

1. A Sniper that repeatedly shoots at the body rather than the head (i.e., employs bodyshots as above).
2. Slang for the Sydney Sleeper, since the weapon cannot deal headshots.

Bodysnatched

Refers to being killed with Your Eternal Reward. Used in voice or text chat as a way for a player to announce a YER-wielding Spy has taken their identity.

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 bombarding them with as many explosives as possible.

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. The Overhealing effect of the Medic's secondary weapon 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

Butterknife

Term for when a Spy kills a player with the Knife, but not with a backstab.

Bushwhacking

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

C

Camping

The act of staying in one location that enemies are more likely to pass through to obtain easy kills. This term does not apply to certain situations, such as an Engineer protecting his buildings.

Camp and Dagger/Cloak and Camper

A diminutive term for Spy hiding with the Cloak and Dagger, usually to artificially lengthen a match.

Cannonjumping/Cannon Jumping

The act of using a delayed cannonball shot from the Loose Cannon to perform an explosive jump that covers long distances.

Cap/Capping/Capped

May refer to:

1. 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.
2. A control point.

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, preventing the Engineer from repairing it.

Chainstab

Killing numerous enemies in a row without a pause, via use of the backstab capability of any of the Spy's melee weapons.

Chievements/Chieves/Cheevos

Slang terms for achievements.

Circle strafe

The act of moving around an opponent while keeping your crosshair locked on and 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, craftablity or possibly attached gift text of an item. If an item is clean, then it means that it can be freely traded, crafted and has not been gifted.

See also: Trading.

Clutch

As a noun, the crucial moment that comes between winning and losing. As an adjective, the ability to perform under pressure.

Not to be confused with Crutch.

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/Compy

Abbreviation of Competitive play.

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 rate makes it easy to shoot at before it can return fire.

CP

Acronym for control point.

Cratering

Dying from fall damage by either falling a great distance or being accelerated into the ground by an explosive (self or enemy).

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 used sarcastically when referring to players who are not doing anything to help the team.

Crit

Abbreviation of critical hit.

Crocket/Crawket

A portmanteau of Crit and Rocket.

Crutch

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

Not to be confused with Clutch.

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-Day

An acronym for drop day.

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

Demojousting

Refers to a duel between demoknights that focuses on charge attacks rather than conventional swordfighting.

Demoknight

May refer to:

1. A Demoman typically wielding the Chargin' Targe or Splendid Screen that actively uses their melee weapon. Variations of the term usually refer to their other equipped weapons. Demoknights wielding the Bottle may be referred to as "Bottleknights", whereas Demoknights wielding the Sticky Jumper may be referred to as "Jumperknights" or "Rocketknights".
2. In Mann vs. Machine, a robot Demoman variant that uses the Chargin' Targe and Eyelander.

Demomortar

A Demoman launching Stickybombs onto a far away location, typically towards an 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 with 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 indiscriminately shooting grenades or Stickybombs where enemies will likely be without actually taking aim at a specific target.

DH

Acronym for the Direct Hit.

Dirty

Refers to the tradability of an item. Usually refers to the inability of an item to be crafted. Also applies 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 before the November 29, 2012 Patch.

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 Dead Ringer. 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 loadout 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.

Engineer farm/nest

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. Abbreviation for the Free to Play update.
3. Anything that can be easily acquired by F2P users, E.G. the Ghostly Gibus.

F4

Used in Mann vs. Machine, to remind a teammate to press F4 so that the next wave can be deployed. This is most often used if a player appears ready, but has not indicated so.

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.

FAN/FaN

May refer to:

1. Acronym for the Force-A-Nature.
2. Short for the Fan O'War.

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, often in conjunction with the Gloves of Running Urgently, rather than his primary weapon.

Flag

Synonym for the Intelligence in Capture the Flag maps.

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 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.

G

GG

May refer to:

1. Good game
2. Grizzled Growth.

Gibus

A shortened version of either the Ghostly Gibus, Ghastly Gibus, Ghastlier Gibus, or Ghastlierest Gibus, often associated with players without a premium account.

G.R.U./GRU

Acronym for the Gloves of Running Urgently.

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.

Griefing

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

Gunshot Bride

A celebratory term used in the event of killing a player with an aerial. The phrase can be attributed to a video by tf2worms [1] showcasing a Pyro being killed by a rocket in mid-air while lyrics from Propane Nightmares [2] plays in the background.

See also: Aerial

Gunspy

A label for a Spy who uses his primary weapon more than his melee weapon.

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 Patch where Valve penalized players who had been using external programs to idle. As a result, many servers (primarily those run by people that didn't get Cheater's Laments) began opting "anti-halo" policies, even going so far as to use mods that changed the Cheater's Lament to form various insults targeting the wearer. The term is derived from the nickname for the Cheater's Lament 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.

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 fashion.

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.

Jumpstab

A trickstab which is performed by jumping upon your target from an elevated position.

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.

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 ÜberCharge of the Kritzkrieg, 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.

Lobby Tease

Popular term used in TF2 Lobby when a lobby is full/near full and a player leaves or a spectator does not join a team.

Lowball

To propose a relatively lower-valued offer when trading items.

Lucks-and-Lolz/Luck-n-Load

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

Mac Shivback/Shiv McRazor

A label for a Sniper who uses the Machina, Razorback, and Tribalman's Shiv at the same time. The terms are varying portmanteaus of the latter two weapons, with "Mac" of the "Mc-" name prefix being a shortened name for the Machina.

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

A term used when someone on fire has been killed by the Postal Pummeler.

Man(n) Up

Short for Mann Up Mode in Mann vs. Machine.

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, Virtual Audio Cable and Manycam. 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 Grenade Launcher.

Naked

Refers to a player who is not wearing any hats or miscellaneous items.

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

Noscope

Killing an enemy as a Sniper with the primary weapon (excluding Huntsman) without zooming in.

Noob/Newb/Nub

General gaming slang for an inexperienced or new player. "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 Enforcer.

O

OMGWTFBBQ

A Pyro Achievement, where the Pyro kills an enemy with the Hadouken taunt.

P

P-Vision

Short for Pyrovision

Picnic/Sandvich Picnic/Heavy Picnic

Refers to when a group of Heavies from one or both teams get together and repeatedly eat the Sandvich or other lunchbox items.

Pimp Hat

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

Pipebomb/Pipes

Alternate name for the projectiles fired by the Grenade Launcher.

Pills

Alternative name for the projectiles fired by the Grenade Launcher.

Piss

Slang for Jarate.

Pissrifle/Pissgun

Slang for the Sydney Sleeper.

Pit

May refer to:

1. The final area in Badwater Basin.
2. The bottomless pits in front of spawn and along the bomb's path in Decoy. Pyros can use the compression blast to push bomb-carrying Robots into the pit, resetting the bomb.

Pocket

May refer to:

1. A player who is being pocketed by a Medic.
2. A Medic who primarily heals one ally without regularly healing others.
3. Synonym of Pybro; a Pyro who primarily stays with the Engineers to guard them and their Buildings from Spies.

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 have 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 compression blast.

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 can 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 defenses and complete an objective, such as capturing a control point or advancing the cart. Often accompanied by an ÜberCharge.

Pybro

May refer to:

1. A Pyro wielding the Homewrecker, who stays with an Engineer and helps him by checking for Spies, airblasting projectiles, and removing Sappers.
2. A Pyro who supports teammates by Spy-checking, using compression blast to extinguish ignited teammates, and reflecting incoming projectiles.

Pyrocar

Synonym of W+M1. The term was created after a player decided to play Pyro with a racecar peripheral, literally becoming a "Pyro car" [3]

Pyrosharking

A term used for players who use the Neon Annihilator to attack enemies whilst underwater.

Q

QQ

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

See BarbeQueQ.

Quickscope

Zooming in and instantaneously headshotting with the Sniper's primary weapon (excluding Huntsman and Sydney Sleeper).

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. 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".

Alternatively, it can be used to label a Heavy in Mann vs. Machine, who utilizes the rage upgrade.

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 while fighting, and ending up killing his opponent, and usually more. Used both as an acknowledgement and in frustration when a fight may be over somewhat prematurely between two players attempting to fight fairly.

Rec

Shorthand for Reclaimed Metal.

Rescue Wrangler

An Engineer using the Rescue Ranger and Wrangler in the same loadout, often to make use of Sentry Jumping to catapult himself to unexpected positions, then teleport his Sentry and/or other buildings to him to attack the enemy team.

Reflects / Reflect Kill / Reflecting

An alternative term for successful use of the 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

The practice of attempting to complete an objective quickly with all the players of one or even both teams playing as one class only (i.e. Pyro). 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/Skilt

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

Scrap

Shorthand for Scrap Metal.

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

A Sentry Gun.

Sentry Farm

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

SF

Festive weapons of Strange quality (e.g. "SF Scattergun").

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, often used in a silly fashion.

Solly

Slang for the Soldier, often used in a silly fashion.

Solly Bird

Similar to "solly," refers to a Soldier that rocket jumps often.

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.

Spawnhugging

The act of staying near a respawn point, only shooting enemies in one's line of sight and constantly retreating to the Resupply Cabinet when in danger.

See Camping.

Spec

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/Shpee

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

Spy Cap/Spycap

A strategy where a Spy will lurk near a locked control point with the intention of capturing it as soon as it is unlocked, before the enemy team has time to retreat from defending the previous point. This is usually performed at the final point of a map due to the accelerated control point timing.

See Chaincap.

Spy checking/Spycheck

The act of "checking" teammates or a specific area for enemy Spies. Due to the lack of friendly fire, Spy checking can be performed by firing upon a teammate with any weapon; the Pyro's Flamethrower excels at doing so.

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 lose, continuing until there is only one person left.

Spygineer

May refer to:

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

Spyper

Portmanteau for a Spy disguised as a Sniper.

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 squeaky voice.

SR/ScoRes

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 (such as baiting them into following the Spy up stairs) 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.

TC

An acronym for the Team Captain cosmetic.

Tele/TP

Abbreviation for Teleporter built by an Engineer.

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.

Telestab

A Jumpstab/Stairstab executed by jumping off of an enemy Teleporter.

Tower

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

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 and the Market Gardener together.

TS

An acronym for the Team Spirit paint.

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.

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").

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 can apply to a Heavy that plays in the same manner, moving forward and continuously firing his Minigun without thinking about 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 or shove enemies around without actually 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.

Weapon heckling

Using a class's repositioning abilities, such as the Scout's speed, to continuously force an opponent to use a disadvantageous weapon. For example, a Scout can maintain a safe distance from a Pyro, forcing the Pyro to equip the Shotgun, which is then outdamaged by the Scattergun at close range.

Wep

Abbreviation for weapon, used in trading discussion.

Wrenching

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

The act of killing a Spy with the Wrench.

Y

YER

Acronym for the Spy's Your Eternal Reward.

Competitive terminology

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

#

6s

Shorthand for a competitive format where there are six players per team, commonly consisting of two Scouts, a Soldier who stays with the Medic (referred to as a "Pocket"), a second Soldier that focuses on utilizing alternate routes to attack the enemy (referred to as a "Roamer"), one Demoman, and one Medic.

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 term referring to when a Soldier rocket jumps above the enemy and shoots at the enemy Medic in order to either kill him or force his ÜberCharge.

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.

Dry Push

Term that describes when an attacking team rushes the defending team's last point without having an Übercharge ready. Usually attempted when the defending team also doesn't have an Übercharge and the attackers outnumber the defenders.

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.

M

Maincalling

Coordinating and giving directions to your team. Mostly used by the Medic in 6v6 matches before pushing.

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

The act of focusing on and killing an enemy with minimal help.

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!".

Stookie Booms

Often refers to Stickybombs placed using the Scottish Resistance, e.g, "Stookie Booms on point!" meaning "There are Scottish Resistance Sticky Bombs 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