Graffiti terminology
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A number of words and phrases have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti. Like all slang and colloquialisms, the phrases vary in different cities and countries. The following terminology comes primarily from the United States.
- back to back
- Graffiti that covers a wall from end to end, as seen on some parts of the West-Berlin side of the Berlin Wall. Similarly, trains sometimes receive end to end painting when a carriage has been painted along its entire length. This is often abbreviated as e2e. End to ends used to be called window-downs but this is an older expression that is falling from popularity.
- black book
- A graffiti artist's sketchbook. Often used to sketch out and plan potential graffiti, and to collect tags from other writers.
- bomb
- To bomb or hit is to paint many surfaces in an area. Bombers often choose throw-ups or tags over complex pieces, as they can be executed more quickly.
- Bite
- see nick.
- buff
- To remove painted graffiti with chemicals and other instruments, or to paint over it with a flat color.
- burner
- Typically a large, more elaborate type of piece. The piece could be said to be "burning" out of the wall or train-side. Because they take so much time and effort, burners in downtown areas are more likely to be legal pieces, painted with the consent of the property owner. However, the great early writers of New York also did burners illegally on trains, and adventurous modern writers sometimes still do epic-scale illegal pieces in heavily-trafficked areas.
- crew
- A group of writers or graffiti artists. Some crews are members of gangs, or are associated with gangs (sometimes for procurement of art materials or for protection while painting), but many crews are unaffiliated with gangs.
- etch
- The use of acid solutions intended for creating frosted glass, such as Etch Bath, to write on windows.
- giraffiti
- A giraffiti is any kind of graffiti in a high or otherwise hard-to-reach place.
- go over
- To go over a piece of graffiti simply means to paint on top of it. While most writers respect one another's artwork, to intentionally and disrespectfully paint on top of another's work is akin to a graffiti declaration of war. However (due partially to the limited amount of desirable wall-space) most graffiti writers maintain a hierarchy of sorts; a tag can legitimately be covered by a throw-up, and a throw-up by a piece, and this is commonly done without incident. If a piece has previously been slashed (or "dissed"), it is also acceptable for another writer to go over it. To violate these guidelines, or to simply paint lower-quality graffiti on top of a higher-quality artist's work will quickly characterize a writer as an annoynce, or "toy."
- heavens
- Pieces that are painted in hard-to-reach places such as rooftops, thus making them hard to remove. Such pieces (also commonly known as giraffiti), by the nature of the spot, often pose dangerous challenges to execute, but may increase an artist's notoriety. This sort of places called heavens also because it is very dangerous to paint there and it may lead to death, thus, going to heaven.
- insides
- Graffiti done inside trains, trams, or buses. In 1970s New York, there was as much graffiti inside the subway trains as outside, and the same is true of some cities today (like Rome, Italy and Melbourne, Australia). While still very common, insides are often less artistic and seldom documented.
- king
- The opposite of "toys," kings are writers especially respected among other writers, sometimes separated into "inside" and "outside" kings. To be a king of the inside means you have most tags inside trains (to "own the inside"), and to "own the outside" means having most pieces on the train surface. One should note that there are kings of style among a variety of other categories and the term is regionally subjective. Self-declared kings will often incorporate crowns into their pieces; a commonly used element of style.
- nick
- To steal another artist's ideas or lettering schemes. Seasoned artists will often complain about toys that nick their work. The word originated as British and Commonwealth slang for "steal". In New York, the word "bite" was originally used in this context.
- paintEATER
- Surfaces coated with a certain chemical that makes them difficult to spraypaint.
- piece
- A large and labor-intensive graffiti painting. Pieces often incorporate 3-D effects, arrows, and many colors and color-transitions, as well as various other effects. Originally shorthand for masterpiece. A piece requires more time to paint than a throw-up. If placed in a difficult location and well executed it will earn the writer more respect. Piece can also be used as a verb that means: "to write". Super kool 223 is often credited as the inventor of piecing.
- scribe
- Also called "scratchitti," scribing creates hard-to-remove graffiti by scratching or etching a tag into an object, generally using a key, knife, stone, ceramic drill bit, or diamond tipped Dremel bit. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness determines which stones or other objects will scratch what surfaces.
- slash
- To put a line through, or tag over, another's graffiti. This is considered a deep insult. It is also known as "capping", "marking", "buffing", and "dissing".
- sticky
- A sticker (often taken from a post office) with the writer's tag on it. A sticker can be deployed more quickly than other forms of graffiti, making it a favorite in especially public places like newspaper dispensers.
- tag
- A stylized signature, normally done in one color. The simplest and most prevalent type of graffiti, a tag is often done in a color that contrasts sharply with its background. Tag can also be used as a verb meaning "to sign". Writers often tag on or beside their pieces, following the practice of traditional artists who sign their artwork. A less common type of tag is a "dust tag", done in dust by writers wishing to practice.
- throw-up
- A throw-up or "throwie" sits between a tag and a piece in terms of complexity and time investment. It generally consists of a one-color outline and one layer of fill-color. Easy-to-paint bubble shapes often form the letters. A throw-up is designed for quick execution, to avoid attracting attention to the writer. Throw-ups are often utilized by writers who wish to achieve a large number of tags while competing with rival artists.
- top-to-bottom
- Pieces on trains that cover the whole height of the car. A top-to-bottom, end-to-end production is called a whole-car. A production with several writers might cover a whole-train, which means the entire side of the train has been covered.
- toy
- An inexperienced or unskilled writer. Graffiti writers usually use this as a derogatory term for new writers in the scene. A writer considered a "toy" is especially targeted for slashing or going over
- up
- Writers become up when their work becomes widespread and well-known. Although a writer can "get up" in a city by painting only tags (or throw-ups), a writer may earn more respect from skillfully executed pieces or a well-rounded repertoire of styles than from sheer number of tags.
- whack
- Refers to an ugly throwup, tag or piece. If something sucks, it is whack.
- whole car
- A single or collaborative piece that covers the entire visible surface of a train car, excluding the front and rear of the train. A whole car is usually worked upon by either a single artist or several artists from the same crew and is completed in one sitting.
