The Lingo

Lingo is a big part of ultimate as any newbie will tell you after their first couple of games. Hopefully this page will get you started on the basics so you can understand what all the vets are really talking about:

Force - a variation on man defense that shuts down 1/2 of the field making defense easier and increasing the chances of forcing a turnover

Home - a force direction - where your team has set up camp for the game

Away - a force direction - the opposite side of the field from 'home'

Flick - slang for a forehand throw

Hammer - an upside-down throw gripped like a flick, but thrown overhand

Aligator / Pancake catch - the best way to guarantee you don't drop a pass

Lobster claw / hamburger catch - a good way to potentially drop a pass

Layout / Bid - a term to describe any diving play (either on O or D), the 'bid' being an unsuccessful attempt

Strip

Foul

Stall count

Scoober

Pull

Poach

Pick

Cut

O-B

Huck

Handler

D-block

Hand-Block

Chilly

Clog

Break-force throw / Broken

Greatest - when a player starting in-bounds jumps out of bounds, catches a disc and throws it back in-bounds to a team mate

Universe Point - the last point in the game when the teams are tied (e.g. 14-14 in game to 15... next point wins)

Zone/Zone D - there are many variations on zone defence in ultimate

Cup / Traditional - a zone defense with a 3/3/1 formation (3 in the cup, 3 mid-fielders and 1 deep defender)

Wedge / 2-man / Chinchilla / Chinch - a zone defense with a 2/3/2 formation (2 in the wedge, 3 mid-fielders and 1 deep defender)

Up! - SCREAM UP to let your team mates know that the disc has been thrown - especially on D

Air bounce - a disc that appears to head towards the ground at first, and then bounces up to a higher flight path

Wall / Zebra - a zone defense with a 1/3/2/1 formation (one rabbit or chase who follows the disc, 3 in the wall, 2 mid-fielders and 1 deep defender)

O - Offense

Junk - free-for-all, everyone for themselves offense

Stack / Vert / Vertical Stack - an offensive set-up where generally 5 or 6 players line up along the length of the field and make cuts to the left and right out of the stack - this offense works only against a man defense

H / Horizontal - an offensive set-up where the players line up evenly spaced across the width of the field. Generally there will be 3 handlers and 4 cutters