Good info but they're basic electrical and electronics phrases, not pinball specific.

I thought this was going to be stuff like names for various pinball play. What's the one where you shoot up the inlane? Always forget that one, ha.

What does “shopped” and “routed” mean?

Alley pass?

For pinball phrases maybe start with the important ones like “HUO” means “I think it’s worth a lot of money and it’s not too crappy”

“HEP” means God Himself has touched the machine and you probably can’t afford it. (Sincerely he does unparalleled work)

Mylar = factory sticky plastic that protects the playfield but at this age is bubbling and should be left alone most the time

The body is the lower portion of a pin and the head is of course the top box that usually comes off. Just like a person, pins have anatomy.

GI (General Illumination) ((the lights that help you see the game)) is the most basic state of existence and should in no way instill hope in a machine. A game in the worst of states can still have GI and it does not in any way indicate “an easy fix”

The boards are the brains, the expensive part, located in the head. Naturally.

Planking: all wood will do this eventually. It essentially means it has outgassed completely and dried thoroughly.

Stern: a naughty word not to be spoken in a positive manner, least you start a fire.

JJP/Spooky/boutique: see above but not as forbidden

I really should separate these based on what it actually means and what most half-assed sellers think it means.

Routed: it was put out in public to be played, usually by an operator. This mean it was abused, played heavily and is probably full of shitty, quick hacks, because an operator doesn’t want ANY downtime.

Shopped: ideally a game has been waxed properly and all the rubbers replaced, balls replaced, sleeves replaced and it should now be in good working order. It does not, however, mean the game has been deep cleaned as one should do on a semi-annual basis. (Once every few years) where one removes all the components and strips the playfield down and cleans the piss out of it. The game should be 100% at this stage of cleaning.
BUT SHOPPED =/= DEEP CLEAN.
They are different.

Deep clean. That’s a new one.

Really? Maybe they call it something different but I’ve definitely seen people differentiate “shopped” versus a proper cleaning. Usually from the more experienced sellers. I’ve never heard shopped used as “best clean it’s ever seen” so there’s an implied next level cleaning after shopping

What you call deep clean, I call shopped.

Ah, looks like that's another name for it. I remembered what I was thinking though, "Shatz"... wonder where that comes from.

I consider them two different things. Alley pass is to get a shot set up on the opposite flipper. Shatz is to have the sole intention of triggering the opposite inlane switch.

It comes from Neil Shatz.

I've actually usually heard "Shatz" used when the ball goes all the way out the inlane: I thought it was more of an accidental shot or blown alley pass. But maybe that's not technically correct.

HUO needs to stand for something else. Hope Ur Oblivious. That seems to be the more common connotation: I always see it used that way, ha.

Is there a name for when you're lazily catching the ball just holding the flipper up, and it bounces up perfectly over the sling, past the inlane, and directly to the outlane?

I've mastered that one, seems like it should have a name, or maybe I should come up with one.

It is a good idea to come up with a pinball vocabulary, or a glossary of pinball terms. The Internet Pinball Machine Database has a good list here:

https://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php

Also, it should be noted that the pinball manufacturers and community have come up with multiple names for the same part. An example is Jet Bumpers for Williams, Thumper Bumpers for Bally and Pop Bumper as a generic term for what most of us call Pop Bumpers these days.

Here are a few common pinball terms for you as posted on the 'A Pecos Puzzler - Diagnosing EM Pin Problems' thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-pecos-quiz-diagnosing-em-and-early-ss-pin-problems

Relay Parts:

relay_parts_close_up (resized).jpg

#44/47 Lamp Parts:

Lamp and socket parts without words (resized).jpg

Lamp socket parts without words bottom (resized).jpg

A. Contact - AKA tip, tit, nipple (get your minds out the the gutter, guys!)
B. Bayonet Pins - AKA nubs
C. Glass Pinch - AKA stem
D. Filament
E. Bulb - AKA envelope
F. Base - AKA cap
G. Bracket
H. Barrel - AKA socket
I. Contact
J. Spring
K. Insulator
L. Terminal
M. Insulator
N. Connector AKA tab, lug

One of my pet peeves is when people call these #44 and #47 lamps 'bulbs.' Bulbs are either something you screw into a kitchen lamp socket or the glass 'envelope' of the lamp!

The Four Stepper Unit Types:

• Step Up/Step Down Stepper from a Williams OXO
• Two Solenoids
• Bonus Unit

Step Up - Step Down (resized).png

• Step Up/Step Down/Reset Stepper from a Williams Grand Prix
• Two Solenoids and One Coil
• Bonus Unit

Step Up - Step Down - Reset (resized).png

• Step Up/Reset Stepper from a Williams OXO
• Two Solenoids
• Ball Count Unit

Step Up - Reset (resized).png

• Step Up Continuous
• One Solenoid/Coil

Here are three very different Step Up Continuous Stepper Units:

Williams Mini-Match Stepper from a Liberty Bell. This stepper unit uses a coil and an armature instead of a solenoid and plunger.

Mini Continuous Step Up 1 (resized).png

Mini Continuous Step Up 2 (resized).png

Score Reel Unit from a Williams OXO

Score Reel Continuous Step Up (resized).png

Match Unit With Bell from a Williams Expo

Match Unit With Bell Continuous Step Up (resized).png

PARADE

- A parade is when multiball ends with most or all of the balls exiting the playfield by following each other out the same outlane or down the center in fairly close (and often eerily synchronized) succession.

Not sure if this is my own term, but I’ve always said it for as long as I can remember. I don’t recall reading it or hearing it anywhere.

I call that a simuldranious event.

That’s weird, I usually call that depression.

Everybody out of the pool!

Here’s where all the answers lie.

https://funwithbonus.com/new-pinball-dictionary/

Nice list! But a separate page for each word/expression? Really? More ad revenue, yeah, but sheesh!

Bail out shot = A safe place to shoot the ball if it is about to roll off the flipper or otherwise cannot be trapped and shot to the desired shot.
Drop catch = Dropping the flipper a microsecond after it contacts the flipper so as to deaden the balls momentum to better make the next shot. Sometimes comes to a full trap.
Live Catch = Flipping so that the flipper contacts the ball exactly at the flippers highest point bringing the ball to a complete stop (or close to it) on the flipper.
Dead Pass(also call a Chill) = Not flipping and letting the ball bounce to the other flipper.
Post Pass(also called a post transfer) = With the ball trapped, quick flipping so that the ball bounces off the bottom of the slingshot post and goes to the other flipper.
Short plunge = Plunging softly to avoid contacting any switches/features and getting the ball to a trap on a flipper or under control to make a safe shot.
Slap save = When the ball is coming almost straight down the middle. Flipping very hard to get the tip of the flipper to push the ball over to the other flipper tip, then quickly followed up with flipping the other flipper. An advanced version of this involves no second flip.

These are commonly called Reverse inlanes too. Since the inlanes and outlanes are reversed so it challenges your instincts.

With skillful nudging, or bumping of the machine, a ball down the outlane on games like Fathom can be bumped back into the inlane toward the flipper