A
ABS : Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene – The type of plastic from which LEGO is made.
AFOL : Adult Fan Of LEGO – Refers to fans 18+ years of age who have any interest level and experience with LEGO. An adult fan can be anyone and often can include, but not limited to, adults who build sets, build their MOCs, collects memorable or LEGO sets/minifigs, engages in LEGO fan media and social content, LEGO photographers, just loves LEGO, and more. If you are interested in ELGO at any level-you are an AFOL.
Ambassador : A member of a LUG who represents the group to the LEGO community.
Anti-stud : The indentations on the bottoms of bricks, plates and tiles into which the studs will connect.
APC : Armored Personnel Carrier – A vehicle used in modern warfare.
B
BI : Building Instructions
Bignette : A scene that is larger than a vignette, but smaller than a diorama.
Billund : The town in Denmark where LEGO was created. LEGO Headquarters and Design center are located there.
Bram Sphere : A LEGO sphere of any size developed by Bram Lambrecht.
Brick : An all encompassing term for any LEGO piece, cubic in design and 3+ plates in height, in any shape or color.
Brick Built : A creation which is made of bricks as opposed to using molded pieces.
Bricklink : Bricklink.com is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers who specialize in LEGO sets and pieces.
Brickset : Brickset.com is a website containing a highly detailed catalog of LEGO sets and elements.
BURP : Big Ugly Rock Piece (Also known as “Rock Panel 4 x 10 x 6 Rectangular”)
C
CC : Classic Castle
Cheese Grater : A LEGO element with an 18° slope, 1 stud wide, 2 studs long, and 2 plates high. It resembles the cheese slope, only longer and slotted (also known as “Slope 18 2 x 1 x 2/3 with 4 Slots”).
Cheese Slope : A LEGO element with a 33° slope, 1 stud wide, 1 stud long, and 2 plates high. Aptly named for its resemblance to a wedge of cheese (also known as “Slope 30 1 x 1 x 2/3“).
Clone Brand : Sets of construction toys that appear similar and may be compatible with LEGO, sold by other companies to compete with LEGO.
CON : A convention where LEGO fans display their MOCs and socialize with other AFOLs.
Crack-link : A term used by AFOLs referring to Bricklink and its addictive nature when purchasing elements and minifigs in any desired quantity.
CSF : Classic Space Forum – An online LEGO Space fan community.
Custom : A Non-LEGO part, element or accessory that is designed to be compatible with LEGO. Third-Party Vendors such as BrickArms and BrickForge produce these items for example.
Cuusoo : The original name for LEGO Ideas.
D
Dark Ages : A period in a LEGO fan’s life when he/she sets aside LEGO in favor of non-Lego pursuits.
Diorama or DIO : A large LEGO scene/creation which is larger than either a bignette or vignette.
Draft : An activity common at LEGO club meetings, where participants bring the chosen set, sort the elements and take turns choosing the parts they want. A great way to get larger quantities of specific pieces to add to your collection.
DSS : Dreaded Sticker Sheet – The sheet of stickers that come with sets that need to be applied by hand.
E
Element : A universal term for a LEGO piece that is not a Brick.
F
FAFOL/FFOL/AFFOL : Female Adult Fan Of LEGO. Also referred to as FFOL (Female Fan of LEGO) or AFFOL (Adult Female Fan of LEGO).
FBTB : From Bricks To Bothans – An online community for fans of LEGO Star Wars.
G
Greeble(s) : A small, non-functioning part added to a MOC to make it visually interesting. Commonly used in Space and Mecha creations.
H
Half-Stud Offset : A building technique that allows building without regard to the standard alignment of studs on a plate, usually achieved with a jumper plate.
Headlight Brick : A 1×1 brick with an inset stud on one side. Often used to attach headlights to LEGO cars.
I
Illegal : LEGO building techniques that break the rules for connections between LEGO elements followed by Official LEGO Designers, particularly connections that stress LEGO elements.
Inventory : The list of elements that are included in any Official LEGO set.
J
Jumper Plate : A 1×2 or 2×2 stud plate with only 1 stud in the center. Useful for half-stud offset building techniques.
K
KFOL : Kid Fan Of LEGO
L
LBR : LEGO Brand Retail – The LEGO Brand Company’s official brick-and-mortar retail store division.
LDD : LEGO Digital Designer – A digital designing program available for free from TLG.
Legal : LEGO building techniques that that follow building guidelines for official LEGO set designers.
LEGO : The official term referring to products made by The LEGO Group (TLG). LEGO is used as both a singular and plural noun such as “sheep” and “fish”.
LUG : LEGO Users Group – Local or Regional LEGO clubs that meet and interact primarily in an offline or real world context, although many have an online presence as well.
LURP : Little Ugly Rock Piece – Smaller version of a BURP (also known as “Rock Panel 3 x 8 x 7 Triangular”).
M
Macaroni Brick : Nickname for the quarter circle brick. It resembles a piece of elbow macaroni.
Mech/Mecha : A science fiction walking machine, usually biped, with or without a pilot. A Mech is generally larger than a Mecha.
Microfig : Small figures, (half the size of minifigs), originating from the LEGO Game series.
Microscale : Scale for MOCs which a minifig would be too large to represent a person.
Midiscale : The scale between Micro and Minifig scale.
Minifig : Minifigure – The people and characters which populate LEGO environments.
Minifig Scale : A LEGO creation built for the scale of standard LEGO minifigures.
MOC : My Own Creation – Pronounced “mock”. An original creation by a builder using imagination instead of instructions.
MOCFodder : A set purchased strictly for the pieces, not for the set design. Pieces then go into your inventory for your use in MOCs.
MOCpages : LEGO specific photo hosting website used by LEGO fans to share their creations with the world.
MSRP : Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. – The official price for a LEGO set as established by The LEGO Group for a particular market. Individual retailers may set their prices lower or higher than MSRP. MSRP may vary from country to country.
N
NPU : Nice Parts Use – An expression of praise used to describe an interesting way to use an element in a MOC.
NLF : Non-LEGO Friend – Referring to friends who don’t play with LEGO.
NLP : Non-LEGO Person – Referring to people who don’t play with LEGO.
NLSO: Non-LEGO Significant Other – Referring to significant others who don’t play with LEGO. Sometimes referred to as an “NLS”.
O
P
PAB : Pick-A-Brick – A location where one can purchase individual LEGO pieces directly from The LEGO Group via their website or from the wall of bricks found in LEGO retail stores.
Plate : A LEGO part that is 1/3 the height of a LEGO Brick.
Purist : A LEGO fan / creator who uses only parts produced by The LEGO Group.
R
Rainbow Warrior : A term referring to the multi-colored creations we all built when we didn’t have a large variety of parts. Especially when we were children.
RLFM : Registered LEGO Fan Media – Term used by The LEGO Group to denote an officially recognized online LUG, news site, forum, magazine or other fan media not recognized as an RLUG.
RLUG : Registered LEGO Users Group – A LUG officially recognized by The LEGO Group.
S
S@H or SAH : Shop At Home – Shopping online through LEGO.com
SHIP : Super Huge Investment in Parts – A very large LEGO creation, generally referring to a Space MOC, which is over 100 studs long.
Sigfig : Signature Minifig – A signature minifig that represents a user in online communities as an avatar.
SNOT : Studs Not On Top – A building technique that uses LEGO elements on their sides or upside down to achieve the shape or structure the builder wants in their creation.
STAMP : Sticker Across Multiple Pieces – A sticker applied across multiple bricks making it difficult to use these parts again without removing and possibly ruining the sticker.
Stud : The round knobs on top of LEGO bricks and elements used to connect bricks and elements to each other. Also used as a unit of measure in MOCs. e.g. My MOC is 32 studs wide and 64 studs long.
Studless : A building style where visible studs are covered by Tiles or by using SNOT technique.
Swooshable : A LEGO creation, usually a plane or spaceship, that can be picked up without falling apart and flown around the room while making sound affects.
T
Tablescrap : A MOC built without much of a plan from pieces within easy reach of the builder. Usually experimental in nature.
TBB : The Brothers Brick – A popular LEGO blog/website.
TFOL : Teen Fan Of LEGO
Tile : A LEGO element the same thickness as a plate with no studs on top resulting in a smooth surface.
TLG : The LEGO Group – The privately held parent company for all LEGO Brands and Companies worldwide.
Travis Brick : A modified 1×1 brick with studs on all four sides. Named for Travis Kunce, a deceased fan who was known for his enthusiasm for the piece. Also known as “Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Studs on 4 Sides”. LEGO part Number 4733.
TRU : Toys ‘R’ Us
U
UCS : Ultimate Collector Series – A series of large LEGO Star Wars sets designed for older teens and adults. Generally larger than minifig scale.
V
Vignette : A small scene or still life built on a base 8×8 studs wide to 16×16 studs wide.
W
WIP : Work In Progress
X Y Z
YFOL : Young (or Youth) Fan Of LEGO