Talking Darts: An A-Z of terms

After watching the video of the most fun darts terms, its pretty safe to say that you will not find any similar terms used in other sports now would you? these terms are what makes darts so odd yet so beautiful, the sport is indifferent and that's what fans love about it.

There are a variety of different darts terms that you will need to get to grips with when both playing darts and when watching them. Some of the terms are very self explanatory, however some of them are more complex and more unusual, but that's all part of the fun of the game. Check out the video at the top of the page to discover some of the more unusual darts terms used in the game. In this article, we will cover some of the more common terms used in darts.

Arrows is another term used for darts. For example players throw arrows at the board.

Archer - describes a player who has a very quick smooth throw style. Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis are players who have a quick smooth throwing style.

Barrel - refers to the part of the dart that is gripped when you hold a dart in readiness to throw it.

Bottom of the board - referring to the bottom part of the board. Draw an imaginary line across the dartboard splitting the bullseye anything in the bottom half of the board.

Bounce - out - when a dart hits a wire on the board flush on and bounces off the board.

Bullseye - red dot in the middle of the board worth 50 points.

Bust - when the player hits more than the score they require. When a player busts their score, the darts do not count and the player starts their next throw on the score they had prior to busting their score. For example if I needed to check out 2 and aimed for double 1 in a checkout and I hit a single one by landing it in the segment numbered one then I would have bust my score and would score zero because I need to checkout on a double. When I come to my next throw I would still require 2. (Video right)

Cover shot- switching from aiming for 20 to 19's.

Double - the thin outer ring of a segment on the dartboard, you use the double to check out at the end of a leg. Hit normally in a game without being in a checkout it counts double the number of the segment.

Double in - when a player needs to hit a double before starting the leg - a format used in the World Grand Prix.

Double top or tops - double 20.

Downstairs - bottom half of the board and in reference to the 19 sometimes referred to when a player switches downstairs from aiming for 20 to 19s.

Flights - plastic part of a dart that give the dart aerodynamic float.

Game on - announced by the PA after a leg has been won, they usually refer to the players name who is throwing first in the next leg before preceding with game on. The call announces to the players that the game has started.

Game shot - when called by the PA/ referee, it signifies that the winning double has been hit, the match is over.

Leg - a game in a match normally a leg of 501 where the score starts at 501 before deducting after every three darts thrown. Can also be a shorter game of 301.

Mad house - double 1 the lowest double available to hit. Also referred to when a player leaves 2 to checkout on, the player must hit double 1 in order to win the leg, there are no other doubles to hit to checkout, therefore players cannot get away from madhouse.

Maximum - a score of 180, a player has hit a maximum when they score 180.

Maximum check out - 170 checkout of 2 x treble 20s and bullsesye, the hardest checkout in darts.

Nine - Darter - when a player completes a leg of 501 in the fewest number of darts possible (9 darts), this is an extremely difficult feat to achieve. A bonus is on offer in televised events for any player or players who hit a 9 darter across the span of the event. If only one player hits a 9 darter then they get the whole bonus, however if more than one player achieves the feat then the bonus is spilt between however many players hit a 9 darter.

Oche - the place where the players stand to throw from.

Shaft - the middle section of a dart that holds the flight and connects to the barrel.

Shanghai - A score of a single, double and triple of a number. For example single 20, double 20 and triple 20 would mean I have hit a shanghai of 20's. Shanghai can also mean a checkout of 120 because a player would need to hit a Shanghai of 20's to checkout. (Video left)

Toe - line - the line you stand behind to throw from.

Ton - a score of 100.

Top of the board - top half of the board.

Treble - the inner ring of a segment, worth triple the segment worth. For example treble in the 20 segment would be worth 60 points (3x20).

Upstairs - top half of the board.

Wire - Darts that just miss the intended target you aimed for. Also referred to when close to hitting a double, the commentators frequently say the player was off the wire. Also in bounce outs, the dart normally hits the wire (metal strips on the dartboard).