Glossary of Common LEGO User Terms and Acronyms

For those of us who build with LEGO bricks, there is a whole language of terms and abbreviations. Have you ever heard one and wondered what it meant? Below are some of the terms that I am familiar with and their meanings.

 

A

• AFOL - Adult Fan Of LEGO. (Pronounced "aw-ful", "ay-fol" or ""A-F-O-L")

 

B

• Billund - Located in Denmark, Billund is where TLG's headquarters are located.
• Blay (or Bley) - Bluish Light Gray (or Grey depending on how you spell it). This is the second shade of light gray produced by LEGO entering production in 2003. The first shade of light gray is just known as "Light Gray" and was produced in sets from 1954 to 2008.
• Brick-built - Something that is made out of LEGO bricks and pieces more specialized pieces or assemblies.
• Brickfilm - A film made using stop motion animation where the characters and film sets are made out of LEGO bricks and pieces.
• Bricklink - Online marketplace where LEGO pieces can be purchased from other LEGO fans (www.bricklink.com)
  
• Bricktober - A month of brick events and specials offered at Toys 'R' Us stores (before they closed) during the month of October.
• BURP - Big Ugly Rock Piece, also known as LEGO piece number 6082

 

C

• Cheese Slope - a LEGO piece that is 1 stud by 1 stud with a 33° slope and 2 plates, or 2/3 of a brick high. Also known as LEGO piece 54200. This piece is called a "Cheese slope" because a yellow or orange piece looks like a wedge of cheese.
• CMF - Collectable Minifigure.
• CMF S## - Collectable Minifigure Series (Number)
• Custom - A creation or individual piece that uses non-LEGO pieces in part or in whole.

 

D

• Dark Ages - A period of time between when a person does not purchase or build much or at all with LEGO. Usually falls sometime between when being a KFOL and an AFOL.

 

F

• FOL - Fan Of LEGO (Pronounced "fol" or "F-O-L")

 

G

• GBC - Great Ball Contraption. Mechanism made out of LEGO Pieces that moves LEGO basketballs, soccer balls, and other LEGO balls from one point to another, or in a loop.
• Greebling - Adding detail to a LEGO build just for the sake of adding detail.

I

• Illegal - Building technique that does not follow the guidelines for LEGO Set designers. Often due to stressing the elements and/or unstable design.

 

K

• KFOL - Kid Fan Of LEGO (Pronounced "kay-fol" or "K-F-O-L")

 

L

• LEAF - LEGO Enthusiast And Fan
• Legal - Building technique that is follows building guidelines for LEGO set designers.
• LEGO Ideas - Website where FOLs can post pictures of their MOCs and if they receive enough support, TLG will consider making them into a set.
• Legos - Oh no, don't say that! Officially, the plural form of LEGO is "LEGO® brand building bricks", but that rather long to say, so most people refer to multiple bricks of LEGO as either LEGO pieces, or LEGO following the grammatical convention of "fish" or "sheep" where the word is both plural and singular.
• LTC - LEGO Train Club
• LUG - LEGO Users Group. This is  group of FOLs, usually in the same geographical region that get together to interact through different activities related to LEGO.
• LURP - Little Ugly Rock Piece, also known as LEGO Piece number 6083
• LSM - LEGO Stop Motion
• LSMF - LEGO Stop Motion Film

 

M

• MF - Minifigure. LEGO person within the LEGO System of play.
• MOC - My Own Creation. A creation made by a FOL that is not a LEGO Set. (Pronounced "mock" or "M-O-C")

 

P

• PAB - Pick-A-Brick. Choose the pieces you want from a given selection and either pay by volume, by mass, or by specified piece prices depending on how and where you purchase them from.
• Purist - Someone who only uses LEGO brand pieces, thus not including custom stickers, custom pieces, or pieces made by anyone other than LEGO.

R

• Rainbow Warrior - A LEGO creation that is full of multiple colors that do not make sense in the context of the model, but are just used because the pieces were available.

 

S

• SigFig - Signature Minifigure, the minifigure and/or picture of a minifigure that Fans Of  LEGO use online as an avatar.
• SNOT - Stud Not On Top. This is a building technique where the studs, normally on the top of a LEGO model are oriented in another direction, usually on their sides or upside down to achieve the desired shape.
• S@H - Shop at Home. LEGO online store

 

T

• TFOL - Teen Fan Of LEGO (Pronounced "tee-fol" or "T-F-O-L")
• TLG - The LEGO Group. A family owned company that produces the LEGO bricks and pieces that make up the LEGO System of Play.

 

W

• WIP - Work In Progress