RED=break
ORANGE=turntablism
WHITE=tagging
BREAKING 1990
The bboy goes into a handstand and spins around as much as he can by rocking from hand to hand and moving the hand with the weight off it before coming down to his feet.
2,000
You go into a one-handed handstand, spin around as much as possible, and land on feet again.
AIRPLANES
Windmills w/ arms straight spread out to the sides as high as you can get them.
AIRSWIPES
You start with both hands and feet on the ground, facing upwards. Then you kick your legs up with your weight on one arm and spin over so that you land on your other arm before your legs land. If done correctly you should be able to spin you body completely around.
APPLEJACKS
A basic move to challenge another bboy to battle. You squat on both legs, then fall backward onto your hands and kick one leg into the air, as high as possible. Then you spring back onto both legs, and repeat.
BACKSPIN
A spin performed high on the back. All weight is balanced on the upper back, legs tucked close to the body. Spin is initiated through a circular swing of the legs in the air.
BACK SWIPE
The same thing as an air swipe except when your legs are in the air half way through, you change directions and go back to your starting position.
BARRELS
Windmills w/ arms rounded in front of you.
BATTLE
A challenge between an individual or group of bboys.
BBOY
Breakin boy, boogie boy, as in one who break dances.
BELLYMILL
Like a windmill but instead of turning around on your hands or head you turn over on your stomach (belly).
BHUDDA
Similar to UFO, except knees are inside of arms which are kept straight, and legs are kept off of ground.
BITE
Stealing another’s move or moves.
BOOMERANG
You start sitting on the ground, with your legs out in front of you in a V position. Then you stick your hand between your legs and lift yourself up, to where only your hands are touching the ground. Then turn around in circles.
BOSTON CRAB
Same as a crab, but with legs spread as much as possible and body more upright.
BRONCO
You start on your feet. Then you fall to your hand only. Then kick your feet back and land on your feet again, then repeat all steps.
BROOKLYN ROCK (Battle Rock, Up Rock)
Dancing with a variety of fighting movements. Consist of punching, throwing weapons or whatever. Usually used up against someone you battle.
BUNNY HOP
Kind of like flare except legs are kept straight up, spread apart in front of you. Then you hop up and down turning in a circle.
BURNED
Term that refers to an individual or group beaten in battle.
CANNONBALL
Done in a cannonball position with arms wrapped around knees.
COMBINATIONS
A combination is when two or more moves are executed right after each other.
CRAB
Same as position and movement as "turtle" but legs are bent like a frog.
CRABWALK
Same position as crab, but you walk around in any direction.
CRAZY LEGS
Same thing as air swipes, except more than one. You do air swipes over and over without pausing in between.
CREW
Group of bboys.
CRICKETS
A spin performed almost identical to hand glide, except weight is temporarily transferred to pushing hand, while spinning hand lifts off floor, rotated, and replaced on floor. If done well, looks like continuous spinning motion.
DOUBLE 99
The same thing as a 2,000 (one hand 99), but when your about to fall off your one hand, switch hands, kick your legs to gain speed and continue to do a 2,000(one hand 99), on each hand over and over without coming down.
DOWNROCK
A rhythmic weaving of legs and feet in a continuous circular low around the axis of the hand that is carrying the dancers weight. Usually combined with freezes or hesitations, and is followed by other moves.
EGGBEATERS
Windmills with hands high on the hips.
ELBOW GLIDE
Same motion and position as handspin except spinning on elbow with hand in stomach.
FIST GLIDE
Same motion and position as handspin except spinning on fist.
FLARE
Like a windmill in that your legs move around in big circles in the air, but instead of moving on your shoulders, you put your weight on your hands.
FLOAT
Balancing on his hands with his body horizontal except for his legs, which are usually bent to help balance.
FOOTWORK
Same as "downrock".
FRONT FLIP
A flip forward down in the air flipping yourself upside down and right side up again to your starting position.
GENIES
Windmills w/ your arms crossed over the chest.
GO DOWN
The action of a bboy engaging in a battle with the possibility that he could get burned.
HALO
A windmill except instead of rolling from shoulder to shoulder you spin on your head.
HAND GLIDE
The bboy is in the float position, except with only one hand supporting him. The other hand pushes him so that he spins around.
HEADSLIDE
A head slide is a slide done inverted while resting on your head.
HEADSPIN
You spin on your head. You use your arms and legs to initiate the spin.
HELICOPTER
With one leg under him and the other one outstretched, the outstretched leg moves around in a circle on a horizontal plane while remaining straight, passing under the other leg and going around in front.
HESITATIONS (FREEZE)
A stop, or freeze, in a circular motion of down rock.
HOLLOW BACK
A kind of pose, it is a handstand with your legs bent towards your back, or, a bridge with your feet in the air.
KIP-UP
Rising from flat on his back to his feet by rolling backward and kicking his feet in the air, his upper body follows and he lands on his feet.
LOCKING
A kind of freestyle involving a lot of complex weaving arm movements.
MUNCHMILLS
The same thing as a windmill except you keep your legs all the way crossed and folded.
KNEE SPIN
All weight is balanced on the knee touching the floor. The other leg is raised in altitude. Spin is initiated through a push off with hands. Speed is increase after the flow of motion is established by pulling the hind leg into the body.
NECKMOVE
Only one turn of a windmill.
NUTCRACKERS
Windmills w/ hands covering your crotch area.
PERFECTIONS
A bboy's best move.
POPLOCK/POPPING
A form of Hip-Hop that is really not breaking, but is often performed by bboys to add variety to their performance. The dancer uses strict controlled "pops" of their body parts to give the illusion of a constant waving motion. Also the dancer will also move their feet in certain ways to give the illusion that they're floating.
ROUTINES
Connected and/or executed movements done by several dancers together.
RUBBER BAND
The bboy kip-ups and falls to his back to kip-up again repeatedly.
SCRAMBLE
Same as "downrock".
SLIDES
Pulling yourself across the floor. The name of the slide tells what part of the body you are sliding on.
SPIDER
This is considered to be a flexibility move. Both thighs are placed behind the bboys back, knees are on top of the shoulders at ears, calves are in front. Weight is balanced on either hands, feet, or a combination of both.
STREET DANCER
Overall term referring to break, boogie, and freestyle dancers.
SUICIDE
The bboy does a front flip and lands flat on his back without hurting himself.
SUMOS
Windmills grabbing your knees.
SUPERMANS
Windmills on your chest and arms reaching out to the front.
SWIRLS
Similar to the handglide, except you spin on your forearm, not hand.
T-FLARE
Same as flare but with legs together.
TOMBSTONES
Legs closed and body in an "L" position. No hands are used.
TOPROCK
Your basic upright footwork. Can be based on many different influences and is different in each individual. Often is used as the lead in a sequence of movements, and as fill between sets of downrocking and power moves to give yourself a chance to recover before continuing.
TURTLE
A complete spin of the body performed in the float position. Shifting weight from one arm to another, and placing hand without body weight on it progressively in a circle, then the same with the other hand accomplish spinning.
TWO-LEGGED APPLEJACKS/V KICK
Same as Applejacks, except instead of kicking up one leg, you kick both.
UFO
A spin similar to the turtle, except body is upright, in a crouch; arms are straight, and knees to outside of arms, and legs not touching ground.
UPROCK
Uprock is a dancing fight, in which the dancers are very close but do not actually touch. It looks like a kung fu battle, but with more continues movement and more rhythm.
WACKED or WACK
When someone performs a move incorrectly.
WINDMILL
The bboy rolls from shoulder to shoulder, spinning his legs around in the air continuously.
WORM
The bboy lies on his stomach and creates a wave moving from front to back so as to look like a worm crawling.
DJing DICTIONARY
05 - Vestax PMC-05PRO Scratch Mixer
12s - Technics SL-1200 Turntables
Backspinning- This is like juggling two records to repeat a sound over and over. You play the sound on one record then switch over and play it on the other record while you spin back the first one to the beginning of the sound and then switch back to the first one and start over again. To do this some DJs mark the beginning of the sound by sticking white tap on the record so they can spin it back easily to the sound, but you can also just look at the label of the record and use that to judge.
Beat juggling- Using the concept of backspinning you take the beats from two records and create new rhythms by switching between them and repeating them to make new drum patterns.
Beat Junkie - Addiction to buying/collecting vinyl
Beat Matching- Adjusting the pitch of two records so that their beats are in time, and so the tracks can be mixed.
Crab- Stroke the fader with all your fingers to cut really fast. You place your thumb on one side of the fader to rebound the fader off it while your stroking the fader really fast with each finger in turn starting from the little finger, so its as if the fader is vibrating between your thumb and fingers. This means you are able to cut up the sound much faster, than if you're using just two fingers. Invented by Q-Bert.
Crates - Hard Plastic Milk Crates.
Cutting- Scratching while moving the fader in sync with the record to cut the sound in and out. There are stabs/chops when the record is moved really fast, and chirps where the scratching and fader are really fast.
Decks - Another word to describe the Turntables
Flare- This scratch is getting more difficult than the first three basic ones. It’s like taking the transformer and cutting it in half. Takes about a year to learn. Invented by Flare
ITF - International Turntable Federation
Phrasing- Using the concept of beat juggling; you take words from two records and switch between them to create new sentences. DJ Noize made whole paragraphs like this. For the last three techniques you either use two of the same or two different records
Transforming- Move the record backwards and forwards slowly while cutting the sound in and out really fast to create the stuttered sound, from this you can try different things. Invented by Spinbad
Wax - Vinyl Records Scratching Moving the record back and forth over a particular sound in different rhythms
TAGGING DICTIONARY
ALL CITY
What a writer is considered to be when he/she is "up", but this term implies more status than being just "up". Many people can be "up", but only a select few could be considered "all city". Can also refer to a crew instead of just one writer.
BACK IN THE DAY
Refers to the "old days", old school, or when a writer first started writing. Also a hip-hop/rap term.
BACKGROUND
Originated on the subways out of necessity. Backgrounds were used to make the piece stand out from all the tags and assorted scribbling on a subway car that make the piece hard to discern; the color or design painted behind the piece to make it stand out from the wall or train.
BACK TO BACK
A wall that is pieced from end to end all the way across. Also can refer to throwups that are one after another.
BATTLE
This is done when two writers or two crews have some sort of disagreement. The battle can take two forms: skills battle or getting up - essentially quality vs. quantity. A skills battle is when two writers piece a wall within a certain time period (usually a day or a few hours) and whoever does the best piece is the winner. A getting-up battle is when the writers take a certain area of a city and whichever crew can get up the most in that area within a certain amount of time (say a week to a month), wins. For both kinds of battle, an outside crew or writer judges who is the winner. The terms of losing and winning are usually negotiated by the crews involved and can be payment in paint, pot, a sock in the jaw, the losing crew has to stop writing their name, etc., etc.
BITE
To copy another writer's style. This is considered a no-no and is looked down upon, even though writers often borrow imagery from cartoons and comics.
BLOCKBUSTER
Big, square letters, often tilted back and forth and in (usually) two colors. Mainly invented to cover over other people and to paint whole trains easily, but they are effective on smaller walls for maximum coverage. Blade and Comet claim to have invented these.
BMT
Train line in NY that had only ridgys and ding-dongs (except for the As and Cs.)
BOMB
Prolific painting or marking with ink. To cover an area with your tag, throwups, etc.
BOMBING
To go out writing.
BUBBLE LETTERS
A type of graffiti letters, usually considered to be an older (and sometimes outmoded) style. Often used for throwup letters because of their rounded shape, which allows for quick formation. Phase2 originally created this style.
BUFF
Any means employed by the transit authority to remove graffiti from trains. The more modern usage is when any graffiti is gone over or removed from any surface, not necessarily just from trains.
TO BUFF, BUFFED
To erase, erased.
BURN
To beat the competition with your style. Also refers to a really good piece, as in one that "burns".
BURNER
Originally a well-done wildstyle window-down whole car, a burner is a very good piece. Obviously, the reference to a window-down car is not applicable for pieces that are not on trains. A burner is any piece that has good bright colors, good style (often in wildstyle) and seems to "burn" off of the wall.
CALTRANS
The part of the government in charge of freeways in Southern California.
CAP, FAT or SKINNY (tips)
Interchangeable spray-can nozzles fitted to the can to vary the width of spray. These are usually racked off of commercial products, such as K-Mart's Bug and Tar, various cleaning products or starches. Many stores and graffiti fanzines sell caps nowadays. Also referred to as "tips" (as in "flare tips" and "thin tips".) The really big fat caps are sometimes called "softballs" because of the wide and soft-looking spray they produce. Tips are sometimes referred to by a certain number of fingers, corresponding to the width of the spray (for example, a "four-finger spray" would be about as wide as your hand. The number on the front of a tip is the catalog number for that model.
CHARACTER
A cartoon figure (usually, but not necessarily) taken from comic books, TV or popular culture to add humor or emphasis to apiece. In some pieces, the character takes the place of a letter in the word.
CHINA MARKER
A type of grease pencil used by artists to mark up contact sheets of photos or the photos themselves for cropping. They come in red and blue, and were adopted by writers for tagging because of the grease base. China markers are not very big, only as big as a crayon, but will write on almost anything.
CLOUD
Stylistic form applied to pieces. The use of clouds is not as frequent now as it was in the early days of subway car painting. See "background".
COMPUTER STYLE
A certain style of wildstyle that looks digital or bitmapped, as if it came out of a computer.
CRAZY
It means crazy in the dictionary definition but can also mean "really" as in "crazy big".
CREW
A loosely organized group of writers who also tag the crew initials along with their name. Crew names are usually three letters, many times ending with "K", which stands for "kings" or "kills" in most cases. Some crew names are just two letters, some are four, it all depends.
CTA
Chicago Transit Authority.
CUTTING TIPS
A way to cut standard tips, thus modifying them into fat caps or flare tips.
CUTTING LINES
A painting technique used on inside fills of letters and characters to get thin lines, thinner than thin tips.
DIS
To insult. Comes from "disrespect". Originally it was just a hip-hop/rap term but has found its way into the culture at large. Hey, even my mom says it! See "front".
DEF
Really good, (derived from "death"). In its day it had as much use in the hip-hop scene as in the graffiti scene. Not in use as much anymore, in some circles its use is considered downright cheesy. I'm all for bringing it back.
DING-DONG
Relatively new stainless type of subway car, so named for the bell that rings just before the doors close. Ding-dongs were preferred because they were so flat. They were a quick buff so no one did any full-scale pieces on ding-dongs.
DOPE
Originally a rap/hip-hop term that means "cool".
DOWN
To be in with, part of the group or action (as in "he's down with us"). Part of your connection, if you are down with someone.
DRIPS
Stylized drips drawn onto letters to add effect. Although inept paint application causing unintentional drips is considered the mark of a toy and is wack, stylized drips drawn on letters are acceptable. This style originated early on in New York subway graffiti.
FADE
To blend/blended colors.
FAME
What a writer gets when he/she is constantly and consistently getting up. One of the goals of writers is to have fame within the subculture of writers, and some, like Chaka, aim to have fame (or at least be recognized) outside of the subculture.
FANZINE
A fan magazine devoted to a narrow interest. In the graff scene, fanzines would obviously be devoted to writing, featuring photos of pieces, etc. The first graffiti fanzine was "International Graffiti Times" started by Phase 2. Nowadays there are many fanzines such as Can Control, Skills, Crazy Kings, and many others.
FAN SPRAY
A newer type of stock tip on spray paint cans (used to be only on cheaper brands but almost every company, including Krylon, now sport these on at least one line of their paint) which sprays in a fan pattern that can be adjusted from vertical to horizontal, but is useless for tagging because it looks wack. May be used for fills but the cheezy tips prevent any kind of detailed can control. The tip is not removable for insertion of fat caps.
FAT
Can refer to something being thick, as a "fat line", or can be a general term of good, like "yo, that's fat!" Often spelled "phat".
FEMALE TIPS
A new type of tip that is called "female" because the can has a "male" counterpart. Traditional cans are vice versa. These female tipped cans are no good for writers, except maybe for fills, but even that's questionable.
FILL
The solid interior color of letters on a piece or throwup.
FLAT
Older slab-sided type of subway car; the most suitable surface for painting. This term refers mainly to subways, although it could refer to certain types of freight cars as well.
FLICKS
Prints of photos of graffiti. Also "flick" (singular) and "flix" (plural).
FLY
Cool, same as "fresh". Early hip-hop term.
FRESH
New, cool, good. An early hip-hop term.
TO FRONT
To hassle someone, to want to fight. For example, "You frontin' on me?" Also a hip-hop/rap term. Probably comes from "confront".
GETTING UP
Originally, "getting up" meant to successfully hit a train. Now it means to hit up anything, anywhere, with any form of graffiti, from a tag all the way up to a wildstyle burner -- although the term implies the process of tagging repeatedly to spread your name. Tagging something once would be getting up, but would not make you an "up" writer.
GOING OVER
One writer covering another writer's name with his/her own. Also known as "X-ing out" or "crossing out". "Crossing out" is usually just that, painting an X over another writers tag or piece. In the early days of New York graffiti, Cap was the master of doing black and white throwups to go over people. There was even a crew called TCO (the cross outs), whose main goal was to cross everyone out. See also "blockbuster letters".
GREASE PENCIL
See "china marker".
GRIFFIN
A type of shoe dye used in homemade markers.
GROCERY STORE INK
A kind of purple ink used by grocery stores in their marking guns. Writers took this ink to put in their homemades and refillable markers. Writers from back in the day swear by it because of its permanence.
HIP HOP
The culture in the late 70s and early 80s that spawned the graffiti culture as we know it now, breakdancing and hip-hop music, which has since turned into modern rap music.
HIT
To tag up any surface with paint or ink.
HIT UP
When something is covered with tags.
HOMEMADE
A type of homemade marker made out of old deodorant containers stuffed with socks or felt chalkboard erasers and filled with ink. Homemades have been made out of many things, including (most commonly) various deodorant containers all the way up to VHS videotapes. (!) Homemades have also been called "mean streaks," although this has no relation to the paint stick made by Sanford Corporation.
HOMEMADE INK
A kind of homemade ink made for your homemade marker. The basic recipe involves shredding carbon paper and mixing it with alcohol and/or lighter fluid. Said to be almost as good as grocery store ink.
ICY GRAPE
An old, discontinued Krylon color that is prized by writers when the odd can turns up.
INSIDES
Originally referred to tagging the insides of subway trains. Now refers to the insides of any mass transit vehicle. For example, "He's the king of insides" would mean he's really up on the insides.
IRT
A train line in NY that had many burners because its cars were all flats.
JUNGLE GREEN
Another old, now discontinued Krylon color that writers go crazy over.
KARAK
Same as "character".
KILL
To hit or bomb excessively. To really get up in a major way.
KING
The best with the most. Some people refer to different writers as kings of different areas. King of throwups, king of style, king of a certain line, etc.
KRYLON
A brand of spraypaint, easily recognized by the distinctive 5-spot logo. Most favored by writers because of its large color selection and cheap price.
LAYUP
Side tracks where trains are parked overnight and on weekends. Initially used to refer to subway layups, but now can refer to freight-train layups.
MAD
Crazy, lots.
MAGNUM
A type of fat marker used by writers, not refillable.
MARKS-A-LOT
Standard black magic marker with a tip about a quarter-inch wide. Had its place in the early days of writing (early to mid 70s) but has been discarded in favor of bigger, better markers and spraypaint.
MARRIED COUPLE
Two cars permanently attached, identified by their consecutive numbers. This is an older subway term from New York.
MEAN STREAK
A type of paint stick made by the Sanford corporation. Writers like it because it is opaque, waterproof, and is generally a bitch to buff because the base solvent is ethyl glycol. Comes in white, blue, red and yellow. I've never seen black or green.
MTA
Metropolitan Transit Authority.
MURAL
A large-scale type of piecing, done top to bottom on a wall; usually a large production involving one or two pieces and usually some form of characters.
OLD SCHOOL
General term used to refer to the early days of writing, more specifically, the mid 70s to '82 or '83. Also may refer to hip-hop music of this period. Old-school writers are given respect for being there when it all started, and specific writers are remembered for creating specific styles. For example, Blade and Comet created blockbusters, Phase 2 created bubble letters, clouds, Skeme's "S", and so on.
OUTLINE
The drawing done in a piece book in preparation for doing the actual piece. Also called a sketch. Can also refer to the outline put on the wall and then filled, or the final outline done around the piece to finish it.
PANEL PIECE
A painting below the windows and between the doors of a subway car.
PIECE
A graffiti painting, short for masterpiece. It's generally agreed that a painting must have at least three colors to be considered a piece.
TO PIECE
To paint graffiti, creating a piece, not just go out tagging.
PIECEBOOK
A writer's sketchbook where outlines and ideas to be executed are kept and worked out. Also referred to as a "black book" or a "writer's bible".
PILOT
A type of fat marker. Prized because it writes wider than a Marks-A-Lot and is made to be refilled.
PROPS
Respect, comes from "proper respect". From hip-hop/rap.
RACK
To steal, usually paints or markers. In the past, most writers stole all materials used for painting. Due to paint lockups in California and other areas, this is no longer possible, so most paint is now bought.
RIDGY
Subway car with corrugated, stainless steel sides, unsuitable for graffiti. Writers did mainly two-color throwups and some top-to-bottom throwups (one color and silver because silver was hard to buff) on these types of cars. Ridgys ran in Brooklyn.
ROLL CALL
Tagging everyone's name in a crew, or the list of people who helped create it to the side of the piece. Not done very often - tagbangers seem to like doing this.
RED DEVIL
A favorite brand of spraypaint that was quite popular back in the day, but now has wack fan spray for tips.
RUSTOLEUM
A brand of spraypaint, generally more expensive than Krylon.
SCRIBER
A tagging instrument, usually made out of a diamond drillbit, used to physically engrave one's name on buses and mass transit vehicles. Considered by some writers to be more destructive than is needed. Sandpaper is sometimes used to tag buses in the same manner--it too is considered mass destruction. Tagbangers and hardcore taggers seem to prefer these tools.
SCRUB
A certain type of throwup (usually two colors) that is filled very quickly with back-and-forth lines, rather than filled in solid.
SG-7
A type of big marker made by Sakura, which is a little bigger than a Pilot, and it too is easily refillable, although it does not state that on the outside. Sakura makes a model the same size called "Pentouch" which is a huge paint marker, complete with a mixing ball inside of it.
SHOE DYE
Shoe dye kits are used sometimes for tagging, especially those that consist of a bottle with a brush/sponge device attached. They usually come in black and white. See "Griffin".
STICKERS
A form of tagging, most commonly saying "Hello, my name is". Can be anything from computer-generated, clear, generic blank stickers that have the writer's name on them to elaborate stickers with little pieces and characters. Some writers consider stickers to be for people who are "afraid" to use markers/paint, while other writers use a combination of stickers with markers and paint.
SUCKER TIPS
The stock tip that comes with a can of spraypaint. So named because only suckers would piece or tag with said tip.
TAG
The most basic form of graffiti, a writer's signature with marker or spray paint. It is the writer's logo, his/her stylized personal signature. If a tag is long it is sometimes abbreviated to the first two letters or the first and last letter of the tag. Also may be ended with the suffixes "one", "ski", "rock", "em" and "er".
TAGGING UP
The act of writing a signature with marker or spraypaint.
TAGBANGER
Combination of the words "tagger" and "gangbanger". A new subculture that has developed mainly in southern California. Not really considered writers, they tag, never piece, and almost never do throwups. Often they carry guns and bear more than slight resemblance to gangs. Not really considered to be true writers by writers, but are mostly considered a hindrance and a negative influence on a creative writing and piecing scene.
TAGGER
As opposed to "writer"; this term is usually used to refer to those who only do tags and throwups and who never piece. Some taggers seem to like more destructive methods such as scribers and sandpaper in addition to markers and paint. Some taggers do get interested in piecing, some don't. Taggers who never piece are sometimes called "scribblers" by more experienced, piecing writers.
THIRD RAIL
On New York subway lines, this is the extra rail that supplies the power for the trains. If you touch the 3rd rail, you will most likely die.
3D
A three-dimensional style of letters, used for added effect on basic letters, sometimes applied to wildstyle for an extra level of complexity. This style was invented by Phase 2.
THROWUP
Over time, this term has been applied to many different types of graffiti. Subway art says it is "a name painted quickly with one layer of spray paint and an outline", although some consider a throwup to be bubble letters of any sort, not necessarily filled. Throwups can be from one or two letters to a whole word or a whole roll call of names. Often times throwups incorporate an exclamation mark after the word or letter. Throwups are generally only one or two colors, no more. Throwups are either quickly done bubble letters or very simple pieces using only two colors.
TOP TO BOTTOM
A piece that extends from the top of the car to the bottom, completely covering it. Can also refer to a wall or building that has been pieced from top to bottom. The first top-to-bottom car was done in 1975 by Hondo. Dead Leg did the first top to bottom with a cloud. Others who started rocking the style, and were known for the "T2B's" were Lee, Chain, the Fab5, and later, Newave crew.
TOY
An inexperienced or incompetent writer. Someone whose writing is either wack, who uses sucker tips, or whose style is just plain cheesy. One old definition of "TOYS" is that it stands for "trouble on your system".
ULTRA-WIDE
A type of marker that is extra wide (about an inch and a half), intended for making posters, etc. It too is easily refillable. Often called "Uni-Wide", which is a brand name.
UP
Describes a writer whose work appears regularly everywhere and who is currently writing.
UPS
Refers to people's tags, for example, "So and so's crew has mad ups on main street"
ULTRA-FLAT
A paint preferred by taggers because it sticks to things better than glossy paints.
WACK
Substandard or incorrect (derived from "out of whack"). Anything that looks cheesy or weak. Badly formed letters, incompetent fills, dumb tags, etc.
WET LOOK
No, it's not Jheri Curl, it's an old-school brand of spraypaint. No longer in production to my knowledge.
WILDSTYLE
A complicated construction of interlocking letters. A hard style that consists of lots of arrows and connections. Wildstyle is considered one of the hardest styles to master and pieces done in wildstyle are often completely undecipherable to non-writers.
WINDOW DOWN
A piece done below the windows of a subway car.
WHITE TRAINS
In '83 they started running the white trains on the 6's. Writers loved these cars because they were like canvas all primed and ready to paint.
WHOLE CAR
Obviously a piece covering a whole car. See "top to bottom". This one's by futura 2000.
WHOLE TRAIN
The masterful feat of covering a whole train with pieces. Two whole trains were done in 1976 by Caine I and two more were done by The Fabulous Five soon after.
WRITER
Practitioner of the art of graffiti.