Dart Terms

Dart Terminology

3 in a Bed - Throwing 3 darts at the same number, in the same segmented area (such as 3 fat singles, or 3 triples or 3 doubles of the same number).

301 - Game which is usually double-in double-out where the goal is to score points and subtract them from 301 to get to zero, while doubling out

501 - Game which is usually single-in double-out where the goal is to score points and subtract them from 501 to get down to zero while doubling out

Aces - Double ones in an '01 game

Arrows - Darts

Barrel - Metal portion of the dart that is gripped

Baseball - Game that is on the back of some dart boards

Black Eye - The center of the bulls-eye, worth 50 points

Black Hat - Hitting three double-bulls in one throw

Blind Draw - Tournament where you are matched up with a random player who has also entered the blind draw

Bombs - Very large or heavy darts

Brass - Metal used in the barrel of the dart, less dense then both nickel and tungsten

Breakfast - Hitting 26 while aiming for the triple twenties. Originated from England where bed and breakfast was two and six pence

Bulls Out - Winning the game with a double-bull

Bulls Eye - Center of the board, divided into an inner ring which is the double bull and the outer ring which is the single bull

Bust or Busted - Scoring too many points when trying to finish an '01 game

Century - Score of 100 or more points in one round

Chalker - Person who keeps score for a steel-tip game

Championship Board - Dart board in which the doubles, triples and bulls-eyes are half the size of a normal board. This is a great board to practice on

Check-Out - The successfully hit out for game shot, as in "He hit the 170 check-out"

Choke - To miss the game shot

Chucker - Someone who blindly throws their darts at the board

Clock - Dartboard

Coin Toss - Whomever wins the coin toss has the choice of diddling first or asking the opponent to "show me one"

Convertible - Darts with interchangeable tips to play both steel-tip and electronic darts

Cork - Middle of the board or bulls-eye

Cricket - Game in which the object is to hit three each of the 15s, 16s, 17s, 18s, 19s, 20s and bulls-eyes

Dart - The pointed, feathered object you throw, the act of throwing the dart

Dartitis or Yips - Unexplained syndrome where a player cannot release his dart, which generally manifests itself in a total loss of rhythm and accuracy

Dead-Eye - 3 Double-bulls in one turn

Diddle or Diddle for the Middle - Throw a single dart at the middle of the board to see who goes first to start the game

Dirty Darts - Slang for questionable strategy such as shooting an excessive number of points in cricket

Double Elimination - Process by which the losing team of a tournament or competition move to the loser's bracket where they may continue to play. The winner of the loser's bracket plays the first place darter/team for the actual first place award

Double Ring - The outer ring of the dart board worth double the "fat" number

Double-Out - An '01 game in which the dart player must hit a double number to go out with zero points

Downstairs - Bottom of the board

Easy In, Easy Out - Not having to double-in for an '01 game, or having to double-out to end the game

Eights - Slang for the 18s in cricket

Fall Out - Slang for hitting a scoring dart while aiming for another number

Fat - Large area of a number (between the double and triple ring)

Feathers - Type of flights which are feathers

Fives - Slang for the 15s in cricket

Flight - The feather of the dart which makes the dart more aerodynamic

Game Shot - The winning shot and words every darter playing on the tournament stage longs to hear

Good Group - 3 darts grouped together

Hail Mary Dart - See "Bail out"

Hat Trick - Hitting the bull with all three darts

Hockey - Throw line

Knurl - Grooved or patterned surface on the barrel of the dart, preferred by some for gripping purposes

Leg - One game in a match such as 2 out of 3 legs

Mark - A scoring dart, usually in cricket. Hitting a triple would be three marks

Match - Usually 2 out of 3 games wins the match

Mugs Away - Losers of the previous game automatically start the next game

Nickel - Metal used in the barrel of the dart, not as dense as tungsten but more dense than brass

Nines - Slang for the 19s in cricket

Oche - The throw line (pronounced "ockey", rhymes with "dokey" as in "Okay Dokey")

Pie - Any scoring area on the dart board (or numbered surface). Each number may be considered a piece of pie

Plastic Darts - Plastic darts used to play electronic darts. Plastic darts are lighter in weight than steel-tip darts

Point Monger - Negative term for shooting excessive points in cricket

Pub Rules - Local pub rules for any particular game of darts, as in pub rules for an 01 game when both darters have X1 might be that a bust doesn't count, and the darter throws all three darts

Rail - The wire (or spider web) of the steel-tip board, or the plastic rail on an electronic board

Right There - Encouragement to the dart player who hit their darts close to the target. This is sometimes said in a joking, non-serious way, to a teammate whose darts were no where near their target…

Robin Hood - Sticking one dart into the back (flight) of another dart

Round of Nine or RO9 - Three perfect darts in cricket such as any 3 triples in one round.

Round the Clock - Hitting every number around the board

Round - A three dart turn

Rubber - The final leg of a three-leg game

Sevens - Slang for 17s in cricket

Shaft - The portion of the dart that screws into the barrel and holds the flight

Shanghai - Hitting a single, double and triple of the same number in the same throw

Single Bull - Outer ring of the bull worth 25 points

Single In - In an '01 game where any combination of darts starts the game - you do not have to double in

Six Dart Out - A perfect '301 double-in, double-out game

Sixes - Slang for the 16s in cricket

Skunked - Not getting in a double-in '01 game when your opponent finishes, or wins the game

Slice - The wedge of a particular number on the board, as in a slice (of the pie)

Small Pie - The small wedge of a number between the bull and the triple ring

Spider Web - The wire assembly that divides the numbers on the dartboard

Splashing - Throwing two darts at the board at the same time. The score is added together and then the opponent "splashes". Whomever has the higher total goes first

Steady - Score of 60

Three in a Bed - Throwing 3 darts at the same number, in the same area (such as 3 fat singles, or 3 triples or 3 doubles of the same number)

Toe Line - Line from which you throw

Ton 80 - Hitting three triple twenties

Ton - Score of 100 or more points in one round

Tops - Double 20s or 40 points

Triple Ring - The inner ring of the dart board which is worth triple the "fat" number

Tungsten - Very dense metal used in dart barrels. Also called "Wolfram" in most Nordic countries, hence its chemical symbol on the periodic table, "W"

Two and Six - Scoring 26 points in a throw, also known as breakfast

Upstairs - The upper portion of the board

White Horse - Scoring three virgin (untouched) triples in Cricket on your first turn.

Wiring - Bouncing a dart off of a wire