Dart Glossary

ANNIE'S ROOM - The number One (1).

ARROWS - Another term for darts.

ARCHER - Refers to a player who throws very quick smooth darts 

BABY TON - A score of 95, usually by scoring five 19s.

BAG O' NUTS - A score of 45.

BARREL - The metal body of the darts where they are gripped.

BASEMENT - The double-3. 

BOTTOM OF THE BOARD - The numbers on the bottom half of the dartboard.

BOUNCE OUT - When a dart hits a wire on the board flush-on and bounces back off the board. Can be potentially dangerous to spectators who are too close.

BREAKFAST - (or BED 'N' BREAKFAST) A score of 26, made up of a single-5, single-20, single-1 in a game of x01. This is a common score in darts because players aiming for the 20 sector (which contains the highest scoring area on the board) will often accidentally hit the 1 and the 5 sectors, which are located on either side of the 20. The term comes from the typical price of a bed-and-breakfast in times gone by: 2 shillings and sixpence, or "two and six". (See also "CHIPS")

BUCKET/BAG OF NAILS - Landing all three darts in the 1s.

BUCKSHOT - A throw when darts land wildly all over the board.

BULL-OFF - See DIDDLE FOR THE MIDDLE.

BULLSEYE (or BULL) - The bull's eye, which has an Outer Bull and an Inner Bull.

BUST - Hitting more than you needed in an x01 game. The darts do not count and the player begins his next turn on the same score he had prior to.

CRICKET - In a Cricket game this refers to high scores base on the number of darts scored. For example a triple-20, single-20, single-20 would be called a C-5 because "5 darts" were scored with three darts.

CHAMPAGNE BREAKFAST - Hitting treble 20, treble 1 and treble 5 in three darts (see "BREAKFAST")

CHIPS - A score of 26. (See also: "BREAKFAST")

CHUCKER - A player who just "chucks" the darts at the board, doesn't aim or care.

CIRCLE IT - When a player scores a single digit (less than 10) with three darts, his team-mates would shout out "Circle it!" to the scorekeeper to highlight the terrible throw. A variation on this tradition is to draw a fish around the score, often leading to aquarium-related jokes being aimed at particularly poor or unlucky players.

CLOCK - The dartboard itself, usually in the context of "ROUND THE CLOCK".

CORK - The center of the board. This comes from the cork in the end of a keg where it is tapped. The ends of kegs were used for targets in the game's early days.

COVER - A term frequently used by Sid Wadell, meaning aiming for treble 19.

DAIRYLEA DARTS - A throw that is 'spread' around the board, named after the cheese spread Dairylea.

DEVIL - The treble-6, so called due to '666', and the fact that it is often hit in error when going for treble-13 or treble-10.

DIDDLE FOR THE MIDDLE - A throw to see who gets one dart closer to the bullseye to determine who throws first in the game. Also known as a "BULL OFF", "MIDDLE FOR MIDDLE" and "OUT FOR BULL".

DOUBLE - The thin outer ring of the board. In standard x01 games, a double counts for two times the number hit.

DOUBLE-BULL - On dartboards configured with a bullseye consisting of two concentric circles, the outer circle is commonly green and worth 25 and the inner circle is commonly red and worth 50 points. Hitting the innermost ring of this type of bullseye is a "DOUBLE-BULL". (See also: "BULLSEYE")

DOUBLE IN - A variant of x01 in which a double is needed to start the game.

DOUBLE TOP - The double 20.

DOUBLE TROUBLE - Not being able to hit the double needed to win the game.

DOWNSTAIRS - The lower portion of the board, usually in reference to the 19s in a game of x01.

EASY IN - A game that requires no special shot to begin scoring.

EDDIE SHUFFLE - The art of adjusting ones stance or position along the ockey in an attempt to circumnavigate a troublesome 'blocking' dart. Also referred to as The Milk Float.

FEATHERS -The number 33.

FOGLE - A series of castaway darts thrown with no other purpose than to irritate opponents.

FLIGHTS - The "feathers" of the dart that give it aerodynamic float. Also known as wings.

GAME ON - Advises all players that the match has now started

GAME SHOT - Signifies that the match winning double has been hit

GRANNY - A lose without scoring, see SHUT OUT

HAT TRICK - A score of three bullseyes.

HIGH TON - A score greater than 150.

HOCKEY - A raised 1 1/2" board used to mark the throwing line.

INNING - A round of completed turns by both players, or a turn in a particular game that has innings, like Baseball or Shanghai.

LEG - A game in a match, as in "the best of five legs", in which each leg is an entire game. Or, in the game of Legs, a stripe on the board.

MAD HOUSE - The double-1. At least two explanations for the term have been proffered; because it can drive you crazy trying to hit one in a game of x01, or because it impossible to "get out" of the mad house - once a player has a score of 2 the only way to finish the game is by hitting a double-1.

MAXIMUM - A score of 180

MAXIMUM CHECK-OUT - A score of 170 to end a game. treble-20, treble-20, inner bull

MUGS AWAY - Loser of the previous game goes first in the next game.

MURPHY - A score of single-5, single-20, single-1 in a game of x01. Based on Murphy's Law. 

NAIL - Another word for 1. See "Bucket of Nails" and "Ton of Nails".

NINE DARTER - When a player completes a game of 501 in the minimum required nine-darts. This is a very rare event. There is usually a cash prize for professionals throwing a televised nine-darter.

NOT OLD - A score of 37 (usually by hitting a 20, a 5 and a 12). The phrase is believed to have its origins in a Monty Python sketch.

OCHE - The line you stand behind and throw the darts from.

PERFECT SCORE - When a player scores a maximum 180 points in one throw of three darts.

PERFECT FINISH - When a player finishes a game with a maximum score of 170. This must be done by scoring treble 20, treble 20, double bull, with only three darts. This is considerably more difficult than hitting a perfect score as the player must break focus to change targets and it can only be done if the player has an exact score of 170 remaining.

PIE - any of the numbered segments on the dartboard.

POPCORN - When the darts land so close to each other, they knock their flights out. |

REDEEMER - A dart, (often a T20) that "redeems" two previous poor efforts.

RIGHT CHURCH - Term for hitting a double or triple, but the wrong number. Also known as "DADDY'S BED"

ROBIN HOOD - When you shoot a dart into the shaft of another.

ROUND OF NINE - Throwing three triples in one turn in Cricket.

ROUND THE CLOCK - Any of a number of game variants where players compete to be the first to hit all the sectors on the board in an agreed order (usually numerical), finishing with the outer bull followed by the bull. In some versions hitting a double entitles the player to skip the next number, with a treble entitling the player to skip two numbers. Also commonly played by single players as a form of practice.

SCROAT - A dart that is aimed for treble 20, but ends up in double 20.

SET - A scoring method used in many tournaments.

SHAFT - The middle section of the darts that holds the Flight.

SHANGHAI - A score of a single, double and triple in the same number. "Shanghai" sometimes refers to a checkout of 120 (single, treble and double 20, also as "Shanghai 20"). In some games this is an automatic win. This is also the name of a game.

SHARKEY - A non-registered player who has to assume a false identity in order to fill in for an absent player in a league game, e.g. "due to poor turnout, The Arms had to use a Sharkey".

SHUT OUT - When you lose a game without ever scoring in it.

SINGLE BULL - On dartboards configured with a bullseye consisting of two concentric circles, the outer circle is commonly green and worth 25 and the inner circle is commonly red and worth 50 points. Hitting the outermost ring of this type of bullseye is a "SINGLE-BULL". (See also: "BULLSEYE")

SKUNKED - When you lose a game without ever scoring in it.

SLOP - Darts that score, but not where you wanted them.

SPIDER - The metal web that divides the dartboard into sections.

SPLASH - Darts that score, but not where you wanted them.

SPRAY 'N' PRAY - Darts thrown by an irate and less talented player, rather quickly

STICKS - The darts themselves.

STRAIGHT IN - A game that requires no special shot to begin scoring.

STRIKING OIL - Hitting a double bull when 'diddling for the middle' - comes from the black centre of some modern dart boards. 

THREE IN A BED - Three darts in the same triple of a number. i.e. three triple 20's 180!

THROW LINE - The line you stand behind and throw the darts from.

TOE LINE - The line you stand behind and throw the darts from.

TON - A score of 100 in a game of x01. Scores over 100 would be called a "ton-whatever" for example, a ton-thirty would be a score of 130.

TON OF NAILS - A score of 5 where all three darts fell in the 1 bed with 1 dart in the treble 1.

TOP BANANA - Double 20. Usually exclaimed after hitting this bed to win a match.

TOP OF THE BOARD - The numbers on the top half of the dartboard.

TOPS - The double 20 bed. As in "he wants tops for the match".

TRIPLE/TREBLE - The thin inner ring of the board, it usually counts for three times the number hit.

UPSTAIRS - The upper half of the board

WET FEET - Standing too close to the board (that is, in front of the toe line).

WEDGE - A section or sections of the dartboard.

WHITE HORSE - Scoring three virgin (untouched) triples in Cricket.

WIRE - Darts that just miss where you aimed but on the other side of the spider.

X - A double-one out