LEGO lingo

You love LEGOs. Everybody loves LEGOs. C'mon. But I'll be really impressed if you know what a BFC is. (No, you in the back, it's not the Burly Fish Circus. And take that gum out of your mouth.)

As all AFOLs know, a BFC is a Big Freakin' Castle. A BURP is a Big Ugly Rock Piece. And an AFOL? An Adult Fan of LEGO. Ooh, I love LEGO slang.

I learned the lingo while researching the current Weekly cover story
on a gigantic LEGO exhibit at the Museum of American Heritage, when I got lost in the Internet for hours through no fault of my own. How can you resist sites devoted to LEGO castles and geometric murals and roadside diners with plastic Spam? I had no idea the plastic brick had so many grown-up fans.

I also had no idea that someone would recreate a scene from a White Stripes video in LEGO. I did not make this up.

Here are some other linguistic treasures I dug up:

• RAFOL: Repressed Adult Fan of LEGO (a big kid secretly pining over the plastic bricks of his or her childhood)
• Greebles: Tiny decorative LEGO pieces that make a creation more eye-catching
• MIB: Mint in box (what condition your collectible piece is in)
• MOC: My Own Creation
• SNOT: Studs Not On Top (a smooth brick with no studs on the outside)

Anyone have other favorites?

Pictured: A LEGO couple enjoys a refreshing beverage at the Museum of American Heritage. Photo by Nicholas Wright.