Beer Pong Glossary: Every Term From Air Ball to Zipper

Every beer pong term in one place, from air ball to zipper. If someone at the table yells “Bermuda triangle!” or “heating up!” and you just nod along, this page is for you. Every term links to the full rule or rack diagram.

Jump to: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · L · N · O · R · S · T · W · Z

A

Air ball: A shot that misses every cup and the table. Also what you call your friend after one.
Anchor: The last player in a flip cup lineup. Usually the best flipper, and always the one who gets blamed.

B

Balls back: Both teammates make their shots in the same turn, so they get the balls back and shoot again. Rule #16.
Beaming (Randy Johnson rule): Drilling the other team’s last cup off the table with a hard throw to win. Banned in a lot of houses. Rule #10.
Beirut: Another name for beer pong, mostly in the Northeast. See beer pong vs. Beirut.
Bermuda triangle: Three cups left with none of them touching. No re-rack and no island until one is made. Rule #9.
Bitch cup: The center cup of the starting rack. At our house, a guy who hits it first gets nothing for it. Rule #2.
Bounce shot: A shot bounced off the table into a cup. Usually worth two cups, but the defense can swat it. Rule #23.

C

Celeb shot: Once a game, you can hand the ball to anyone in the room to shoot for you. Rule #22.
Cut the eye out: The 9-cup rack left after the front cup is made. See the diagram.

D

Death cup: Hitting a made cup that nobody pulled. The game ends on the spot. Rule #12.
Defense: Swatting away a shot after it bounces on the table. Never touch one in the air. Rule #25.
Diamond: A 4-cup re-rack in a 1-2-1 shape. See the diagram.

E

Elbow rule: Your elbow has to stay behind the table edge when you shoot, or the shot doesn’t count. Rule #14.
Eye to eye: How you decide who shoots first: one player from each team shoots while staring each other down. Rule #13.

F

Fingering / blowing: Getting a ball that’s spinning inside your cup out before it touches the drink. Rule #17.
Full rack: The starting 10-cup triangle, set 4-3-2-1. See the diagram.

G

Gentleman’s re-rack: Two cups pulled into a straight line. Our house rule. See the diagram.

H

Heating up / on fire: Make two in a row and call “heating up.” Make the third and you’re on fire: keep shooting until you miss. Rule #6.
Honeycomb: A 7-cup re-rack shaped like a hexagon. See the diagram.
House rules: Whatever the home team says goes. Rule #1. Make yours with the house rules builder.

I

Island: A cup that isn’t touching any other cup. Call “island” before you shoot and make it for a bonus cup. Rule #7.

L

Last cup: The final cup. It can always be pulled back to the center, and it doesn’t cost a re-rack. See the diagram.

N

Naked lap (skunk lap): Get shut out without making a cup and your team takes a lap around the house. Rule #5.

O

Overtime: When redemption clears every cup: 3 cups per side, sudden death, no re-racks. Rule #20.

R

Rack: The cup formation, or the plastic frame that holds it. Ours: the Cup Rack Set.
Redemption (rebuttal): After the last cup falls, the losing team shoots until each player misses. Clear every cup and it’s overtime. Rule #19.
Re-rack: Rearranging your leftover cups into a tighter shape, called before your turn. Usually two per game. Rule #15.
Ring of fire (ring of death): Make the front, center and both back corner cups before any others and you win on the spot. Rule #3.
Rollback: In tournament rules, the bonus shot you get when both teammates make it, instead of balls back. See house vs. tournament rules.

S

Same cup: Both teammates make the same cup in one turn: balls back plus two extra cups. Rule #24.
Six cup (high school): A 6-cup 3-2-1 triangle, for re-racks or a quick game. See the diagram.
Sniper: Catch a rebound off your own cups and hit the shooter with it for an extra cup. Rule #8.
Spilled cup: Knock over your own cup and it counts as made. Rule #21.
Stoplight: Three cups in a straight line, front to back. See the diagram.
Swat: Knocking a bounced ball away from your cups on defense.

T

Traveling: A ball that touches one cup and drops into another earns a bonus cup in some houses. Not ours. Rule #11.
Trick shot: If your ball comes back to your side without hitting the floor, you get an extra shot, as long as it’s a trick shot. Rule #18.
Troll: Lose without making a cup and spend the next game under the table. Rule #4.

W

Wall: A 7-cup rack left after the front three cups are gone. See the diagram.
Water cup: The cup of water at each end for rinsing the balls between shots. Use it. Your floor is gross.
WSOBP: The World Series of Beer Pong, the biggest tournament in the world, held in the Las Vegas area since 2006. See 2015 final.

Z

Zipper: A 6-cup re-rack in two staggered lines. See the diagram.

Settle it at the table

Now that you speak the language, pick the rules your house plays with the house rules builder, or read the full rules of beer pong.