Over the course of playing DK, many players have come up with their own personal lingo and terms for describing certain aspects of the game. Many of theses terms, however, are common among players. For anyone new to DK these terms can often be confusing and you may be too shy to ask what they mean (or maybe the idea of having to type it all out on a chat/facebook/etc seems like too much of a bother). In any case, I've started a list below of some common ones, but please post more that I've either missed or that may be specific to your own particular jargon!
Barrel Stage TermsAssassination: When an otherwise relatively safe or manageable situation becomes unsurvivable due to a wild barrel.
Bad Spacing: A difficult spacing between barrels to have to coordinate with successive jumps.
Bagel/Donut: A barrel jump yielding zero points.
Barrel Bukkake: A situation where Kong throws several wild barrels in quick succession, causing what was already a difficult situation to almost become a matter of luck. Kong's emissions are often and usually quite fierce.
BBB: An acronym used to quickly convey what type of death a particular death was. Means: 'Botched a Barrel Board'.
Blue Screw: A screwing that happens when a blue barrel is unable to be smashed, usually due to it being thrown as a wild barrel in an unreachable location. Can also happen if a blue barrel goes down a ladder without being steered, causing it to bypass where it could be hammered.
Bombs: Wild barrels that are caused by a sort of 'glitch' in the programing which fall significantly faster than other types of wild barrels and only in a straight path down from Kong's hands.
Danger Zone: The area between the two ladders on the left side of the 4th girder on the barrel boards. A difficult location to traverse due to the threats of wild barrels, barrels above you having two ladders to roll down (as well as just rolling over the left edge of the 5th girder), barrels uphill of you on the 4th girder, as well as any fireballs that may be pressuring you to rush from below or from the right (or even ones already above or uphill of you, blocking your way). Even the best players often have to retreat from this area if the situation demands it.
Double Jump: Leeching the same barrel twice on the same girder. Pretty risky.
Grouping: Steering barrels together so that they give more points when jumped. This is also used to make impassible combinations of barrels passable. Also frequently used to facilitate 'rejumping'.
In the Face!: Taking a wild barrel (usually on either level 3 or 4) to the face. Used to signify the sheer audacity with which Donkey Kong seeks to kill the player.
Jump-and-Smash (The Benziger): Jumping over a barrel (or enemy) while grabbing a hammer and then immediately smashing the same barrel. Almost exclusively used with the top hammer on barrel screens.
Kong's Ladder: The first broken ladder to the right and of Kong connecting the 6th and 5th girders. The highest broken ladder.
Matrix Smash: Performing a ‘Jump-and-Smash’ (also known as the ‘Benziger’) with the top hammer on the barrel boards while also smashing a wild barrel that would otherwise have likely killed you.
Over-Pressing: A point-pressing tactic on the barrel stages, where a player attempts to group and re-jump barrels on the 4th and 5th girders, after the top hammer has expired.
Rejumping: Jumping a barrel or group of barrels again by climbing down a girder.
Safe Zone/Scoring Zone (barrel screen): The location at the top left of the barrel screen (on the 5th girder), just to the right and under Kong, where Jumpman is 100% safe from wild barrels on levels 5+. There are also relatively safe spots for levels 1-4, but they are a bit more to the left. This is also considered one of, if not the, optimum spot for point pressing by grouping barrels and rejumping them.
Super Happy Fun Time!: An ironic description of the stress of having to deal with 1 or more fireballs on the 6th girder of the barrel boards and one’s likely impending death.
The Transition/Trans: The period during the course of a barrels screen where, after grabbing the bottom hammer, the player needs to navigate Jumpman up to the top hammer. The process of climbing from the 2nd to the 5th girder during a two-hammer barrel screen. Emphasis is put on executing The Trans safely and efficiently during high level play.
Triple Jump: Leeching the same barrel 3 times without climbing to another girder (the first jump is a leech while the barrel is on a ladder). Can only be done on the left side of the 4th girder. Very risky. Discovered by Jeff Willms.
XX_X (of Doom): A particularly hard combination of barrels that may arise during gameplay (it is represented by the characters 'XX_X' as if the 'x's are barrels and they are rolling to the left).
Conveyor Stage Terms67 from Heaven: When you complete a conveyor screen with 6700 left on the timer. can only really happen due to a free pass
68'er: Finishing the conveyer screen with 6800 left on the bonus timer. Much rarer to get than the '67 from Heaven.'
Conveyor Reversal: When the bottom, long conveyor on the conveyor stage switches direction. This happens every time Kong reaches the left side of the screen.
Free pass/Wiebe Freebie: On the conveyors, letting all the fireballs spawn on the left side, skipping the bottom hammer, and then being able to travel up the right side of the screen unhindered -finishing the stage.
FTU: An acronym that simply means either "Forgets the umbrella" or "F*** the umbrella". Usually takes place on the conveyor screen when a player seeking to get a "free pass" either forgets or intentionally skips the umbrella (sometimes it is skipped in order to not have to wait through another cycle of the retracting ladder).
Leap of Faith: Jumping towards either of the retracting ladders on the conveyor stage such that one would die if a pie were to appear. Not recommended. Should only be used if all else is hopeless (which isn’t often).
Pausing: Waiting on the left side of the conveyor screen for all the fireballs to spawn before crossing over to get the gift and possibly receive a ‘Free Pass’ up the right side.
Piemageddon: A conveyor stage screwing of epic proportions; usually causing multiple deaths in a row.
Elevator Stage TermsLong Spring: A spring on the elevator stage which enters the screen and who’s first bounce is on the right side/edge of the yellow up-elevator’s pulley.
Medium Spring: A spring on the elevator stage which enters the screen and who’s first bounce is to the left side/edge the yellow up-elevator’s pulley.
Safe Zone(s) (elevator screen): Two locations at the top of the elevator stage where Jumpman is able to situate himself under the arc of the bouncing of the springs with no chance of being hit. The first is a little to the left of the top of the ladder to the right of Kong’s platform, and the second is above the right edge of the down-elevator’s yellow pulley.
Short Spring: A spring on the elevator stage which enters the screen and who’s first bounce is to the left of the yellow up-elevator’s pulley.
Super Jump: Jumping from the down elevator on the elevator screen to the bottom platform (the bottommost of the two platforms connected by a ladder) rather than riding it all the way down to the lowest, single platform.
Top Shelf: Jumping off the down elevator on the elevator screen to the top platform (the topmost of the two platforms connected by a ladder) rather than doing the 'super jump'. Takes more precise timing and is therefore riskier.
Rivet Stage TermsBottom Spawner: A fireball that spawns, after being smashed, on the bottom-left side of the rivet screen. Particularly annoying when one is point pressing, as they still have the possibility to climb the middle or right side of the screen and minimize your points gained from leaching Kong, rather than having just spawned higher up on the left side and been trapped by the rivet holes.
Democrats: A group of two to five "left-leaning" firefoxes who, at the beginning of a rivet screen, make an uncharacteristic rush for the left side, often forcing the player to abandon both of the standard patterns and play freestyle.
Dry Hammer or Cold Hammer: On the rivets stage, a description of a hammer grab that ends up yielding zero smashes.
Freestyling: Used when one has to abort their typical, perfered rivet pattern (and typical backup patterns) for a highly irregular or rarer one depending upon the nature of their predicament.
Get 'Em!: The hammer-wielding war cry on the rivets screen, while chasing the bad guys along the middle girder.
Republicans: A group of two to five "right-leaning" fireballs who, at the end of a rivet screen, hog the very top right rivet without leaving.
The Reverse Weave/The Juicebox: A very risky rivet pattern that is sometimes executed when one accidentally causes a fireball to spawn on the left by grabbing the bottom prize too quickly. This pattern consists in trying to clear the right 4 rivets first. If successful, clearing the left rivets may be easier, since fireballs tend to the right.
Star Pattern: Getting all the rivets on the left of the rivet stage, but leaving the rivet 2nd from the bottom till last (of the left rivets) so that you can cross over it after having grabbed the bottom hammer. Allows you to potentially get more points while also potentially smashing more fireballs so that they get trapped on the left side.
The Strategy/Strat: A rivet pattern which is much like the Reverse Weave, but is specifically employed during No-Hammer games. This pattern starts with an all-out run to the right at the start of the screen. This is done in order to try to cause the fireballs to spawn on the left and allow the player to get the two top-rightmost rivets first (since these are usually the most difficult to get during no-hammer games). This pattern many times requires navigating carefully past a fireball or two during the start of the screen in order to reap the benefits later on, but can also be aborted for the normal patterns if needed without much of an overall loss in efficiency.
Taunting: Leeching points from jumping beside Donkey Kong on the rivet screens and pressing a direction while at the apex. Can also be done without pressing a direction if close enough. Usually only used on levels 1-3, since there are diminishing points gained as the speed of the timer increases.
The Trudeaux/Trudeiauoeaux Pattern: A rivet pattern pioneered by the former, elite DK player Phil Tudose. This pattern adds first climbing up the bottom middle ladder and immediately removing the bottom-right rivet before moving back left and executing out the start of the 'Star Pattern'. This pattern may be risky if not appropriately timed with the first two firefox spawns. Additionally, it is safer and more effective to use this pattern on levels 1 and 2, since the fireballs are slower. The point is to create a sort of trap for the fireballs just below the middle level so that the bottom hammer results in more smashes -which it usually does.
Toyota: When clearing the last rivet using a jump and jumpman freezes in mid-air as Kong falls to his doom.
Weave Pattern: Getting all of the left rivets on a rivet screen first and then seeking to only grab the top hammer. Often a sort of auxiliary pattern to the 'Star Pattern' used in certain situations where the location of the fireballs may make it (The Weave) safer.
Yahtzee!!!: Getting 5 or more fireball smashes with the bottom hammer on a rivet screen.
Yoleaux-ing: The act of grabbing the bottom right prize after having climbed the bottom middle ladder and grabbed the bottom right rivet at the start of the Rivet stage. This is, essentially, an added risk to the Trudeaux Pattern.
General Terms/Multiple StagesBack jump: Jumping over barrels or fireballs in the direction in which they are rolling/traveling
BOOM, baby!: An exclamation of excitement reserved for 800 point smashes and especially well played situations/boards.
Coward: A fireball which climbs up or down a ladder just as you grab the hammer, effectively avoiding getting smashed.
Double-Death: an oft-observed phenomenon after a death, wherein a second death comes almost immediately. In many cases coincidental; in others undoubtedly psychological in nature.
Freezer: A term used to describe a fireball that is in its 'freezing cycle' -meaning it is prone to 'freezing', or staying still, off and on for several seconds at a time.
Friendly Fire: Unusually cooperative fireballs. Particularly with them allowing you to smash them or bypass them in a dire situation when you really need to. Also used when fireballs are slow to scale the barrel screen –allowing more points to be pressed or a safer passage.
Front Jump: Jumping over barrels, fireballs, or springs in the opposite direction than which they are rolling/traveling/bouncing.
Giving Seconds: A situation where a fireball initially eludes the hammer by darting up or down a ladder, then graciously returns, giving the player a second opportunity to dish out the deserved punishment.
Good Death: A death that comes with having already gained a good amount of points from the stage.
Invisible Death: When a restart is imminent on an early stage due to a sub-par scoring pace. Often an invisible death is delayed by trying to over-press and 'make up' points by risking it more.
Killscreen: The final screen of Donkey Kong. The 117th screen of the game; Level 22-1, where the programming causes you to die after a few seconds.
Kongrats!: The DKer's version of 'Congrats!' reserved for congratulating other players on special or significant DK achievements.
Ladder Camper: A ‘freezer’ which blocks access to a ladder by freezing either near the bottom or right at the top.
Leaching: Gaining points from jumping in proximity to enemies and obstacles while not actually jumping over them. This happens due to how the programing searches under Jumpman at the apex of a jump. Holding left or right while at this point in the jump widens the range the program uses to detect enemies and obstacles, thereby giving the player a better chance to score points without needing to actually jump over them.
Meltdown/Mletdown: When a game that was once promising potential comes to a sudden end in a matter of boards; or just when the end is in sight. Usually accompanied with unusual or uncharacteristic deaths for that player that are often caused by rushing, weariness, or nervousness. A choke or tanking.
Overhead Smash: Getting a hammer smash while the hammer is in an overhead position. Often used with smashing wild barrels and barrels/fireballs that are descending a ladder.
Pauline's Ladder: The final ladder which must be climbed to rescue Pauline on the barrel and elevator screens.
"Point-pressing": Trying to gain more points per board or scenario than one would if they were just playing to safely complete each screen. Types of 'point-pressing' can include: Using the bottom hammer on barrel screens, leeching Kong on the rivets, leeching the fireball on the early elevators, snagging more gifts on each stage, and doing additional grouping as to jump more barrels at once.
PPP: Means 'Pixel Perfect Placement/Precision'. Most often used to explain how very difficult feats in the game were accomplished.
Retreating: Backtracking from a dangerous situation in order to avoid a death or difficult scenario. Can be either a vertical or horizontal direction. Most often used of the elevator screens when one has to abort an attempt to climb the last ladder due to a ‘Long Spring’ and therefore they return to the ‘Safe Zone’. Also used of the conveyor and barrels screens when fireballs or barrels block your way and you have to wait for a better opening to appear.
"Running boards": Trying to simply fly through boards quickly, efficiently, and safely. When pertaining to the barrel boards, this phrase typically means that the bottom hammer is not being employed. It is basically a term used to connote the opposite of "point-pressing".
Screwing: A term used to describe when the random elements of the game work against you to a significant degree such that you to either lose points while point-pressing or have a much smaller chance of surviving the stage.
Sleepy/Dopey Fireballs: Fireballs which have effectively removed themselves from causing any real threats to the player.
Spawning: the appearance of fireballs on the screen either from
1) a blue barrel reaching the oilcan at the bottom of the barrel stage,
2) from the oilcan at the beginning of the conveyor screen (the number of fireballs that immediately spawn is equal to the level number up to a max of 5) increasing up to 5 total fireballs with time or some time (time before respawning depends on ‘internal difficulty’) after they have been smashed with a hammer (it is always in the direction of Jumpman on this stage), or
3) at the beginning of the rivet stage (how quickly they spawn at the beginning depends on the ’internal difficulty’) or some time (how quickly is dependent on the ‘internal difficulty’) after being smashed by a hammer (will respawn on the opposite side of the screen as Jumpman on this stage).
Standing Jump: Jumping without moving left or right. Jumping straight up.
Wall Jump: Jumping and bouncing off of any of the invisible walls which exist on the edge of the screen on each stage. Often used to pass over otherwise unjumpable barrels, but also used to avoid fireballs
Warping or Warp to L=5: This means to run through the more difficult early screens quickly and safely, sacrificing a few points for the purpose of getting the momentum for a long game going. This tactic is often used in a tournament setting, or perhaps playing in an arcade where a limited number of plays are feasible or a time limit must be adhered to, and time cannot be wasted restarting multiple times.
Whiff: An attempted hammer, prize, or rivet grab that misses. Also can be said of a missed hammer smash.
The WTF!!!: Getting through an extremely difficult situation or screen - often involving a significant investment of tension, time, and ingenuity - only to die almost immediately thereafter due to a no-win screwing, boneheaded mistake, or control mishap.
Twitch Jargon:K-a-p-p-a (with no hyphens): When typed inside of a Twitch/Justin.tv stream results in an image most notably used to denote trolling/sarcasm. However, it can be used within the DK community, predominantly at the end of a sentence, to represent a wide variety of things inclusive of the above, as well as facepalm, self-depreciation, etc (e.g. So....it turns out I am the father after all.
.).
The Mario Shuffle: Coined by Tim Sczerby. The double backjump performed by Mario when the player attempts a 2x100 barrel jump on the 6th girder.
Yolovit: YOLO! -love it?!
