Tag – a tag is an artist’s personal stylized signature. A tagger or a writer is an individual that leaves a tag or signature.
Piece – a piece, derived from masterpiece, is a large 3D image depicting arrows, many colors, and cool effects. If the site of the piece is a difficult location, and is well done, the artists / writer will earn the most respect.
Throw-up – a throw up is not a piece, rather it takes less time to create than a piece. It usually consists of an outline and one fill in color. The most common form of throw-ups are bubble letters and shapes – the reduced time in artistic investment also reduces the chances that the vandal will be caught.
Sticky – a sticky is a sticker that has the graffiti artist’s tag on it.
Cru – A cru or crew is a group of graffiti writers and artists that stick together – they can be part of gangs or not.
Slash – it is a great insult to ‘slash’ or put a line through someone else’s graffiti – it is a disrespectful action also known as dissing, buffing, marking, or capping.
Back To Back – the term back to back describes graffiti that covers a wall from one side to the other (ie the Berlin Wall, train cars).
Burner – a burner is a complex, large piece that appears to be burning out of walls and trains.
Insides – insides are tags created within buses, trains, cars, or trams. During the 1970’s it was common in New York to see as much graffiti inside a train as on the outside.
Going Over – if an artist ‘goes over’ another person’s piece and replaces it with his own tag it is the same as declaring war.
Toy – a toy is a graffiti artist that is not talented, or new to the scene.
King – a king is a writer that has gained respect by being talented, and owning the most tags in a certain area (in trains, outside of trains, on walls).
Nic – if you nic someone’s work you are stealing their ideas, color schemes and lettering.
Bite – bite means the same as nic in New York
