There are many LEGO terms that are used in the community, some that you may not have heard of before. There’s a list of some of the more commonly used terms. Let me know if there’s something that I should add on.
A
AFOL: Adult Fan of LEGO.
B
Bigfig: Big Figure. Refers to a character that is larger than the standard LEGO minifigure.
Bley: Light Bley: Bluish Grey, also called as Medium Stone Gray by the LEGO.
BrickLink: An online marketplace for people to buy and sell LEGO, either by sets, minifigures, individual parts, or other LEGO products.
BURP: Big Ugly Rock Piece – a large section of LEGO rock face. Part 6082.
C
Cheese Slope: A 1×1 piece that has a 33° slope. Part 54200.
Clone: Construction toys that are “compatible” with LEGO products but not at the same quality.
Collector: A LEGO fan whose interest in the hobby is to collect sets, usually for a particular theme.
Constraction: Sets that are usually buildable figures that uses ball joints. Themes include Bionicle, Hero Factory, Star Wars, Super Heroes, and Legends of Chima.
D
Dark Ages: A time in a LEGO fan’s life when they lose interest in the hobby.
Design ID: A number that LEGO uses for a specific part. This is used for the shape of the part but not the color.
Draft: An activity that is usually held during LEGO User Group meetings or conventions. Members bring a particular copy of a set that is agreed on and they are sorted into individual element lots. Memebers then take turns choosing which part they want. The order of choosing is usually linear or snake, depending on what the members agree on. A LEGO draft is a great way to get a large quantity of parts without buying multiples of a particular set.
E
Element ID: A number that LEGO uses for an unique LEGO piece. This number has both the shape as well as the color.
F
FOM: Fan of Minifigures.
G
Greeble/Greebling: A building technique that is used to add lots of fine details into a creation.
I
Illegal Connection/Building: A building technique that does not conform to the rules of a regular connection between LEGO elements. This technique causes stress in the elements and longterm use causes the elements to break.
J
Jumper Plate: A 1×2 or a 2×2 plate that has a stud in the center.
K
KFOL: Kid Fan of LEGO.
L
LAN: LEGO Ambassador Network. A not-so-super secret group that acts as a bridge between LEGO and its fans. Organizations are designated as a Recognized LEGO Users Group (RLUG) or a Recognized LEGO Fan Media.
LBR: LEGO Brand Retail. A LEGO Store that is usually located inside a shopping mall.
LCS: LEGO Certified Store. These are monobrand stores that only sell LEGO products with an often un-licensed logo above the entrance and are not part of the LEGO Group or operated by LEGO.
LEGO Ambassador: Title given to the person who represents their RLUG or RLFM.
LEGO Certified Professional: A community-based program made up of adult LEGO hobbyists who have turned their passion for building and creating with LEGO bricks into a full-time or part-time profession. They are not LEGO employees, but they are officially recognized by the LEGO Group as trusted business partners.
LEGOs: A word that people use as a plural for LEGO however the plural of the word LEGO is LEGO.
LDD: LEGO Digital Designer. LEGO’s official free software used to design digital LEGO models.
LUG: LEGO Users Group. Physical or online organizations that are not affilated with LEGO but get together to share and interact with each other. Showing off their creations and doing parts drafts are usually held at LUG meetings.
LUGBULK: The LUGBULK program is held a once a year and it allows LUGs to purchase large amounts of elements directly from LEGO.
LURP: Little Ugly Rock Piece. Similar to a BURP but a little bit smaller Part 6083.
M
Microfig: Not minifigures but micro versions of the characters, usually used in LEGO games.
Minifig: Shortened name for a LEGO minifigure.
Minidoll: A figure that is mainly used for LEGO DC Super Hero Girls, Disney Princess, Elves, and Friends.
MOC: My Own Creation. Basically any LEGO creation that is built that is not an official LEGO set.
Modulars: Modular Buildings. These are sets that are in the LEGO Creator line that are able to joined together to form a larger layout of buildings. Also a term used for any build that can be joined together.
P
Parts Monkey: An individual who likes LEGO parts and can see use for any element. Also a name for someone whose job is to find LEGO parts for a build.
Parts Pack: An official LEGO set that is used more for just the parts and not for the set as intended.
PAB: Pick-a-Brick. LEGO Stores have a wall of various parts that you can fill into cups. You can also purchase individual bricks online.
Polybag: Small plastic bags that contain minifigures and/or sets. You can usually find these at various retailers as well as promotional items from LEGO.
R
RLFM: Recognized LEGO Fan Media. A term that LEGO uses to call recognized Online LEGO User Groups (OLUGs) that have a blog or YouTube channel and offer value to the LEGO community.
RLUG: Recognized LEGO Users Group. Physical or online organizations that are not affilated with LEGO but get together to share and interact with each other.
S
Seed Part: Term used mainly for a Seed Part Challenge. Using “useless” parts in new ways.
Shop@Home/S@H: LEGO Shop@Home. Site where you can buy LEGO products directly from the company.
SNOT: Studs Not On Top. A building technique where the build does not show any studs facing upwards or on the sides.
Sigfig: Signature Minifigure. A minifigure that LEGO fans use to represent themselves.
T
TFOL: Teen Fan of LEGO.
TLG: The LEGO Group. The privately held, family-owned parent company for all LEGO brands around the world.
Travis Brick: A modified 1×1 brick with 4 studs on the sides that is used a lot in SNOT builds. Part 4733.
TRU: Toys R Us. A store that usually has LEGO sets available ahead of the official release date.
U
UCS: Ultimate Collector’s Series. A series of sets, mainly for LEGO Star Wars, that are larger and more detailed than the usual sets. They are usually designated with the Ultimate Collector’s Series seal on the box although some sets are listed as UCS but do not have it.
