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.
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