Since the formation of the competitive Melee scene nearly seventeen years ago, the community has adopted a vast array of words and phrases for describing techniques and scenarios within the game. Much of this can be confusing for newer players, which is why I think it is important to have an accessible collection of such terms. Of course, other Smash-related dictionaries do already exist. For this reason, I decided to focus this glossary on terminology specific to each character (or at least specific to a select few characters). This guide will include both character-specific techniques, as well as community-created terms used to describe various moves and combos. For your convenience, the characters are listed in order of their ranking in the most recent tier list and words within each character's section are listed in alphabetical order.

Fox:

Armada shine - Shine spike that interrupts an opposing Fox’s Up-B. The shine must connect between frames 33 and 42 of the opponent’s Fire Fox startup animation in order to successfully spike. Named after one of the gods of Melee, Armada.

Chillin Dash - Technique which allows Fox and Falco to slide a far distance off the stage with a shine, while retaining their second jump. Performed by running towards the ledge, executing a Down-B just before leaving the stage, and being carried off the stage by the momentum from the dash. Named after Chillindude and also known as the “Shine Float.”

Laser land - Technique which allows Fox to land more quickly than he could by wavelanding. Performed by using Neutral-B right as Fox rises through a platform or rises towards the stage.

M2Kangle - Up-B recovery angle which allows Fox/Falco to ride along the side of the stage and safely reach the ledge or the stage. Named after Mew2King.

Mangle - Up-B recovery angle which allows Fox/Falco to dodge an edgeguard attempt and fall safely to the stage or ledge. Named after Mang0.

Pillaring - Applying shield pressure by using SHFFLs, down-airs, and shines.

Sakurai Combo - Any follow-up attack after landing an Up-B or Side-B with Fox or Falco.

Shine - Fox’s Down-B. “Shine spiking” is an edgeguarding technique which makes use of the downward knockback trajectory of Fox’s Down-B.

Shine Mine - Activates an invisible reflector. Performed by shining in a specific location, going to a platform, and shine dropping through the platform while there is an active projectile on the screen, briefly creating a reflector in the location where the first shine was performed.

Shorten - Refers to a Side-B from Fox or Falco that covers less distance because the player pressed the B button at some point during the attack’s duration. Often used as a recovery mix-up or as a survival technique in the case of an accidental Side-B. Fox’s Side-B has five possible lengths.

Swanton Bomb - Offstage falling up-air from Fox.

Yangle - Recovery angle which allows Fox or Falco to collide with the floor of Fountain of Dreams, bounce off of it, and no impact land on the lower side platform. On any stage, colliding with the floor, bouncing, and then landing back on the floor will result in three frames of endlag.

Falco:

Chillin Dash - Technique which allows Fox and Falco to slide a far distance off the stage with a shine, while retaining their second jump. Performed by running towards the ledge, executing a Down-B just before leaving the stage, and being carried off the stage by the momentum from the dash. Named after Chillindude, and also known as the “Shine Float.”

M2Kangle - Up-B recovery angle which allows Fox/Falco to ride along the side of the stage and safely reach the ledge or the stage. Named after Mew2King.

Mangle - Up-B recovery angle which allows Fox/Falco to dodge an edgeguard attempt and fall safely to the stage or ledge. Named after Mang0.

Pillar combos - Up-and-down combo performed predominantly through the repeated use of Falco’s shine and down-air. Can also include other moves, such as up tilt.

Pillaring - Applying shield pressure by using SHFFLs, down-airs, and shines.

Sakurai Combo - Any follow-up attack after landing an Up-B or Side-B with Fox or Falco.

Shine - Falco’s Down-B.

Shine Mine - Activates an invisible reflector. Performed by shining in a specific location, going to a platform, and shine dropping through the platform while there is in active projectile on the screen, briefly creating a reflector in the location where the first shine was performed.

Shorten - Refers to a Side-B from Fox or Falco that covers less distance because the player pressed the B button at some point during the attack’s duration. Often used as a recovery mix-up or as a survival technique in the case of an accidental Side-B. Falco’s Side-B has four possible lengths.

Spooky shine - Shine which causes the opponent to travel high into the air and to float briefly. Performed by hitting an opponent in knockdown with a stale shine.

Yangle - Recovery angle which allows Fox or Falco to collide with the floor of Fountain of Dreams, bounce off of it, and no impact land on the lower side platform. On any stage, colliding with the floor, bouncing, and then landing back on the floor will result in three frames of endlag.





Marth:

Fat Marth edgeguard - Sub-100% get-up attack from ledge which pushes recovering spacies back off the stage while preventing them from grabbing the ledge, rather than connecting with its hitbox.

Jason Leap - Refers to angling Marth’s Up-B, increasing its horizontal distance slightly. Named after Mew2King, and also known as a “curl.”

Ken Combo - Marth’s forward-air into down-air spike combo. Named after the “King of Smash”, Ken.

Marth Killer - Edgeguarding technique performed by light shielding at the ledge and angling the light shield away from the stage, allowing the user to slide off the ledge and instantly ledgehog the opponent if their shield is hit by the opponent’s Up-B. Though it is named after and most commonly performed against Marth, it can also be performed against Peach, Luigi, Young Link, Link, and Roy.

Marthritis - Play on arthritis, humorously referencing Marth’s frequent struggle to secure kills.

Swordsman Spike - Down-B performed by Marth or Roy after shielding, which creates an invisible ceiling glitch.

Thundercats - Refers to Marth’s up smash.

Tipper - Refers to the sweetspot of many of Marth’s attacks, which occurs at the tip of his sword.

Toy Dash - Short hop back-air into waveland. Named after PewPewU.

Treegrab - Turnaround grab performed by running, run cancelling, dashing, pivoting, and then grabbing. Named after FASTLIKETREE.





Sheik:

Double poof - Occurs when the first part of Sheik’s Up-B is edge cancelled, resulting in two explosions.

Dynasty combo - Any combo that ends by landing the sweetspot of Sheik’s up smash.

Reverse Needle cancel - Movement option which Sheik can utilize due to her ability to both turn around in midair by using her Neutral-B and cancel her Neutral-B charge.

Sami stalling - Stalling technique which involves grabbing the ledge, dropping below the ledge, jumping, and Up-B’ing to the ledge quickly so that the explosion does not occur. Sheik is invincible for the entire duration of this technique, and the technique can be repeated for as long as the player deems necessary. This is strictly a defensive/edgeguarding technique, since the Up-B hitbox is not present at any point while Sami stalling. Named after Druggedfox.

Shino stalling - Stalling technique which involves grabbing the ledge, ledgehopping, and instantly Up-B’ing back down to the ledge. Sheik is invincible for the entire duration of this technique, and the technique can be repeated for as long as the player deems necessary. This can be a defensive or offensive technique, since the Up-B hitbox is present while Shino stalling. Named after Japanese Sheik main Shino.

Tipper - Occasionally used to refer to the sweetspot of Sheik’s up smash.

Up-B turnaround - Technique which allows certain characters to face a different direction after using their Up-B. Performed by slightly tilting the control stick in the opposite direction during the startup of the Up-B.

Vanish Glide - Slow motion Up-B to the ledge which Sheik can perform by running to the edge of the stage, Up-B’ing right as she leaves the stage, and then quickly angling the Up-B from forwards to backwards in order to grab the ledge.





Jigglypuff:

Bacon Burst - Occurs when an opposing attack breaks Puff’s shield while she is on a rising platform. This will cause her to enter a helpless state like every other character rather than flying off the top of the screen.

Fat Puff edgeguard - Sub-100% neutral get-up from ledge which pushes recovering spacies back off the stage while preventing them from grabbing the ledge.

Rising Pound - Puff’s upward angled Side-B.

Space Animal Slayer - Puff’s up throw into Rest combo. Works on Fox, Falco, and Roy.

Wall of Pain - Edgeguarding technique which makes use of Puff’s quick horizontal air speed and her strong back-air in order to carry opponents offstage (and often into the blast zone) with a continuous string of back-airs.

Peach:

Blender - Peach’s down smash.

Double jump cancel - Technique which characters with unique double jumps can use to stop the upward momentum from their second jump and immediately begin falling (often abbreviated to “DJC”). These characters can cancel their double jumps by using any aerial move.

Double jump land - Allows characters who dip down at the beginning of their double jump to land more quickly than they could by wavelanding. Turning around after a double jump land is known as a “Prince Pivot.”

Float cancel - Allows Peach to land with lagless aerials as long as she initiates the aerials while floating. An aerial not initiated while floating can still be float cancelled as long as it is initiated during the IASA frames of another aerial that was initiated while floating, which is known as a “linked float cancel.”

Instant float - Also known as a “ground float,” this is performed by holding the jump button and down at the same time, allowing Peach to float just off of the ground. A “sub float” is even closer to the ground, and can be performed by double tapping the jump button while holding down.

Panning - Use of repeated forward smashes in order to increase the chances of getting a desired forward smash (whether it be the frying pan, golf club, or tennis racket) on the next use.

Princess Spike - Neutral-B performed by Peach after shielding, which creates an invisible ceiling glitch.

Q-drop - The quickest method of dropping turnips, performed by double jump landing and z-dropping the turnips. Repeated uses of Down-B and Q-dropping is known as “knitting,” and can be used by Peach in spare moments to search for more desirable turnips. Named after Australian Peach main Quetzalcoatl.

Slapdash - Double jump cancel into a forward-air which is then auto-cancelled. Essentially a faster tomahawk.

Turnip - General term used to describe any of the Vegetables Peach pulls using her Down-B. Some turnips are given specific names, such as the Dot-Eyes and the Stitchface.

V-drop - Z-drop which is performed right after using a float aerial, allowing Peach to z-drop turnips without losing her float.

Wall Bombing - Recovery technique which involves repeated uses of Peach’s Side-B to ram into the side of a stage, progressively rising with each use, until Peach can safely Up-B to the ledge.

Ice Climbers:

Desynch - Technique which allows the individual Climbers to be controlled separately through alternating inputs. The Ice Climbers can be desynched through several actions, such as spotdodging, rolling, and grabbing.

Freeze glitch - Glitch which desynched Climbers can use to freeze an opponent, performed by grabbing with Nana and then landing a Side-B as Popo. This is banned from competitive play, so it is typically viewed as a flashy way to forfeit.

Handoffs - Series of throws and regrabs performed by desynched Ice Climbers.

Nanapult - Leaping Down-B performed by Nana after the Ice Climbers have been desynched.

Wobbling - Infinite combo performed by desynched Ice Climbers where Popo grabs and repeatedly pummels, while Nana repeatedly uses a weak attack such as down tilt or forward tilt, with the Climbers attacking in an alternating rhythm. Typically ended by a smash attack from Nana when the opponent is at a high percent. A similar technique called “Blizzobling” has Nana using Down-B rather than one of her tilts. Named after Wobbles.

Captain Falcon:

Double jump refresh - Technique which allows Captain Falcon and Ganondorf to regain their second jump. Performed by using an aerial Down-B.

Gentleman - Refers to landing the third hit of Falcon’s jab without initiating his rapid jab. Reportedly named after an old-school Japanese Falcon main named Gentleman.

Hug - Refers to the command grab hitbox of Falcon’s Up-B.

Knee - Falcon’s forward-air.

People’s Elbow - Falcon’s forward smash.

Sacred Combo - Falcon’s forward-air into aerial Falcon Punch combo. “Sacrilegious Combo” may be used to refer to a Falcon Punch into forward-air combo.

Stomp - Falcon’s down-air.





Pikachu:

Momentum cancel - Allows Pikachu to cancel the momentum from any attack that causes him to bounce off of the stage by inputting an Up-B. Useful for surviving attacks that have low knockback angles when Pikachu is crouch cancelling or is able to DI into the stage after being hit.

Super Wavedash - Occurs when the second portion of Pikachu’s Up-B clanks with another move while Pikachu is travelling horizontally across the stage, causing Pikachu to slide a great distance. Pikachu can perform any move during this slide, similar to a normal wavedash.

Up-B turnaround - Technique which allows certain characters to face a different direction after using their Up-B. Performed by slightly tilting the control stick in the opposite direction during the startup of the Up-B. This technique also allows Pikachu and Pichu to travel straight up twice in one Up-B.

Samus:

Bomb jump - Recovery technique which takes advantage of the slight jump Samus does when one of her Bombs explodes and makes contact with her. Can be performed multiple times in one recovery sequence.

Daughter Dash - Left-to-right (or right-to-left) movement while Samus is in her ball form after using one of her Bombs. By performing a Daughter Dash off an edge and then immediately holding backwards, Samus will launch a great distance off of the ledge, a technique known as the “Boost Ball.”

Extended grapple - Technique which nearly triples the length of Samus’ grab. Performed by pressing Z, up, down, and Z again before the Grapple Beam becomes visible. By pressing L, the grab will home in on nearby opponents. However, an extended grapple will not actually grab an opponent unless A or Z is pressed when the Grapple Beam makes contact with the enemy.

Rising grapple - Extended jump which Samus can perform by using her grapple at the very beginning of her air dodge.

Super Wavedash - Long slide across the stage which Samus can perform by using her Down-B, holding the control stick in one direction while in the air, and quickly moving the control stick to the opposite direction when she touches the ground. A more complex variant which covers an even greater distance, known as the “Super Duper Wavedash”, can be performed by holding down on frame 4 of the Super Wavedash, letting go and shielding on frame 5, and grabbing on frame 6.

Wall grapple - Performed by pressing the grab button in the air, this allows the character to latch onto any wall‒after which they can perform a jump, Up-B, or air dodge‒or to grab a nearby ledge. Samus uses the Grapple Beam to perform her wall grapple.





Dr. Mario:

Cape Glitch - Glitch which can teleport certain opponents to the opposite side of the stage if their get-up attack from the ledge is hit by a Side-B from Mario or Dr. Mario.

Pill Rush - Tactic for maintaining stage control by using Dr. Mario’s jump and Neutral-B to keep at least two Megavitamins present on stage at all times.

Up-B cancel - Allows Dr. Mario to put out his Up-B hitbox without actually travelling any distance or enduring any endlag for it. Can be used to stall at the ledge while keeping a hitbox near the ledge, a tactic known as the “Super Ledge Stall.”





Yoshi:

Double jump armor - Super armor Yoshi receives whenever he double jumps. Yoshi will not take any knockback during his double jump unless he is hit with an attack strong enough to break his super armor.

Double jump cancel - Technique which characters with unique double jumps can use to stop the upward momentum from their second jump and immediately begin falling (often abbreviated to “DJC”). These characters can cancel their double jumps by using any aerial move.

Double jump land - Allows characters who dip down at the beginning of their double jump to land more quickly than they could by wavelanding. Turning around after a double jump land is known as a “Prince Pivot.”

Parry - Counterattack which Yoshi can perform after blocking an attack within the first few frames of activating his shield, before his shield animation actually begins. Parried attacks are often punished by a DJC aerial.





Luigi:

Misfire - Luigi Side-B that travels a greater distance and deals more damage than a typical Side-B. The probability of any Luigi Side-B misfiring is 12.5%.

Momentum delay - Use of a grounded A attack to temporarily halt Luigi’s momentum from a wavedash/waveland and to delay when he will continue sliding.

Vududash - By wavedashing on a platform and using his Neutral-B right before sliding off, Luigi can maintain the momentum from the wavedash and travel a great distance in the air. Not limited to Luigi, but most closely associated with him. Named after Luigi main Vudujin.





Ganondorf:

Double jump refresh - Technique which allows Captain Falcon and Ganondorf to regain their second jump. Performed by using an aerial Down-B.

Hug - Refers to the command grab hitbox of Ganon’s Up-B.

Krusty Jump - Ganon’s single hit neutral-air from the ledge.

The Punch - Ganon’s forward-air.

Stomp - Ganon’s down-air.





Mario:

Cape Glitch - Glitch which can teleport certain opponents to the opposite side of the stage if their get-up attack from the ledge is hit by a Side-B from Mario or Dr. Mario.

Scorpion Sting - Mario’s forward smash. Named after Mang0’s alter ego, Scorpion Master.

Up-B wall jump - Refers to Mario’s ability to wall jump after using his Up-B by making contact with a wall during his Up-B and then holding the control stick away from the wall.





Young Link:

Bomb jump - Recovery technique wherein Link or Young Link collides with one of his own Bombs, regaining the ability to perform an Up-B or wall grapple. Typically performed by holding a Bomb as it explodes.

Boomerang endlag cancel - Use of the catch animation that occurs when a Boomerang comes back to Link or Young Link to cancel the endlag of a laggier move, such as down-air.

Boomerang Super Jump - Large leap into the sky which occurs when Link or Young Link makes contact with a returning Boomerang while tethered to the side of a stage.

Passive shield - Young Link’s Deku Shield. Can absorb projectiles while Young Link is standing or crouching.

Wall grapple - Performed by pressing the grab button in the air, this allows the character to latch onto any surface, after which they can perform a jump, Up-B, or air dodge. Link and Young Link use the Hookshot to perform their wall grapple.





Donkey Kong:

Cargo throw - Any of the four additional throws Donkey Kong gains access to after using his regular forward throw to pick up opponents. Donkey Kong is able to walk around while carrying opponents, and can even leap offstage with them, a tactic known as “cargocide.”

Ledgehop double windup - Refers to Donkey Kong’s ability to wind up his Giant Punch twice in a single ledgehop. Performing five ledgehop double windups is enough to fully charge his Giant Punch.





Link:

Bomb jump - Recovery technique wherein Link or Young Link collides with one of his own Bombs, regaining the ability to perform an Up-B or wall grapple. Typically performed by holding a Bomb as it explodes.

Boomerang endlag cancel - Use of the catch animation that occurs when a Boomerang comes back to Link or Young Link to cancel the endlag of a laggier move, such as down-air.

Boomerang Super Jump - Large leap into the sky which occurs when Link or Young Link makes contact with a returning Boomerang while tethered to the side of a stage.

Passive shield - Link’s Hylian Shield. Can absorb projectiles while Link is standing or crouching.

Wall grapple - Performed by pressing the grab button in the air, this allows the character to latch onto any surface, after which they can perform a jump, Up-B, or air dodge. Link and Young Link use the Hookshot to perform their wall grapple.





Mr. Game & Watch:

Kamikaze Glitch - Glitch which causes Game & Watch to fly horizontally into the blast zone, dealing massive amounts of damage to and taking the stock of any opponent he hits in the process. Performed by absorbing three high-powered projectiles with his Down-B and then unleashing them onto an opponent’s shield, breaking their shield in the process.

Pan Spike - Semi-spike performed by hitting the opponent with the bottom of the pan from Game & Watch’s Neutral-B.

Recoil - Damage Game & Watch deals to himself by performing a 1 with his Judge move.





Roy:

Fat Roy edgeguard - Sub-100% get-up attack from ledge which pushes recovering spacies back off the stage while preventing them from grabbing the ledge, rather than connecting with its hitbox.

Floaty Killer - First hit of Roy’s reverse Up-B. Deals massive amounts of knockback, enough to kill floaties at incredibly low percents.

Recoil - Damage Roy deals to himself by using a fully charged Neutral-B.

Swordsman Spike - Down-B performed by Marth or Roy after shielding, which creates an invisible ceiling glitch.

Toy Dash - Short hop back-air into waveland. Named after PewPewU.





Mewtwo:

Confusion glitch - Glitch wherein Mewtwo’s Side-B pulls opponents through platforms or ledges. Most commonly seen on the ledges of Battlefield.

Double jump cancel - Technique which characters with unique double jumps can use to stop the upward momentum from their second jump and immediately begin falling (often abbreviated to “DJC”). These characters can cancel their double jumps by using any aerial move.

Up-B turnaround - Technique which allows certain characters to face a different direction after using their Up-B. Performed by slightly tilting the control stick in the opposite direction during the startup of the Up-B.





Zelda:

Lightning Kick - Refers to both Zelda’s forward-air and back-air.

Up-B turnaround - Technique which allows certain characters to face a different direction after using their Up-B. Performed by slightly tilting the control stick in the opposite direction during the startup of the Up-B.





Ness:

Deadline - Yo-yo glitch follow-up. Allows Ness to land an attack or grab on any opponent between himself and the dropped yo-yo hitbox, even if the opponent is outside of the attack’s normal range.

Double jump cancel - Technique which characters with unique double jumps can use to stop the upward momentum from their second jump and immediately begin falling (often abbreviated to “DJC”). These characters can cancel their double jumps by using any aerial move.

Kirby Jacket - Yo-yo glitch follow-up. Attaches the hitbox of Kirby’s star launch to Ness’ body if Kirby Inhales him and spits him back out.

Pauper Pivot - Similar to Peach and Yoshi’s Prince Pivot, this technique allows Ness to act out of turnaround and to gain horizontal distance more quickly. Performed by using an instant double jump cancel into fast fall into auto cancel aerial, leaving Ness with only three frames of endlag before he can act again.

PK Thunder 2 - The “thunder tackle” portion of Ness’ Up-B which occurs after Ness has directed the PK Thunder into himself.

Spike Jacket - Yo-yo glitch follow-up. Attaches the hitbox of Ness’ down-air to his lower body if Ness lands with a down-air right as the hitbox comes out. This can similarly be done with Ness’ up-air, creating a “Star Jacket.”

Swingjump - Method for cancelling Ness’ vertical momentum from a double jump while maintaining horizontal momentum.

Throw Jacket - Yo-yo glitch follow-up. Attaches the hitbox of an opponent's throw to Ness if they throw him into a wall or ceiling.

Thunder Jacket - Yo-yo glitch follow-up. Attaches the PK Thunder 2 hitbox to Ness’ body if he uses PK Thunder 2 to collide with a floor or ledge.

Toy Jacket - Yo-yo glitch follow-up. Attaches a yo-yo hitbox to Ness’ feet if he unleashes a down smash or up smash right as a disappearing platform disappears from under his feet.

Yo-yo glitch - Glitch which drops a yo-yo hitbox on the ground, giving Ness a variety of unique follow-up options. Performed by landing the charging hitbox of Ness’ up smash without connecting with the rest of the attack.





Pichu:

Momentum cancel - Allows Pichu to cancel the momentum from any attack that causes him to bounce off of the stage by inputting an Up-B. Useful for surviving attacks that have low knockback angles when Pichu is crouch cancelling or is able to DI into the stage after being hit.

Perfect Agility - Landing immediately after either the first or second section of Pichu’s Up-B, resulting in only a single frame of landing lag.

Recoil - Damage Pichu deals to himself by using any electric attack.

Up-B turnaround - Technique which allows certain characters to face a different direction after using their Up-B. Performed by slightly tilting the control stick in the opposite direction during the startup of the Up-B. This technique also allows Pikachu and Pichu to travel straight up twice in one Up-B.





Bowser:

Bowsercide - Use of Bowser’s Side-B to grab opponents offstage and fall with them into the lower blast zones. Only effective if Bowser is up a stock, as Bowser will lose his stock first by committing Bowsercide.

Flame Cancel - Eliminating the startup lag of Bowser’s Neutral-B by landing at the start of the move.





Kirby:

Dash attack grab - Due to Kirby’s unique ability to dash attack off of a platform, he can grab out of dash attack immediately upon landing by pressing the grab button while in the air.

Fence of Pain - Edgeguarding technique involving a continuous string of back-airs. An inferior variant of Puff’s Wall of Pain.

Kirbycide - Sacrificial KO which Kirby can perform using either his forward throw, back throw, or up throw, all of which will carry Kirby and his opponent to the lower blast zone if he uses them to go offstage. While Kirby’s opponent will lose their stock first if he Kirbycides with forward throw or back throw, these throws can be mashed out of. Conversely, Kirby will lose his stock first using up throw, but this throw allows a guaranteed kill on the opponent, making it preferable if Kirby is up a stock. Kirby can also Kirbycide by Inhaling his opponent and jumping offstage, a technique which Kirby may actually survive if he jumps up right as his opponent’s hurtbox touches the blast zone.