Cyberpunk Terminology



2 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z





2020 Hindsight The wise act of watching your back.



A-Boys A type of boostergang whose motif is a specific animal.

Ace 1) An expert in the field. 2) Friend, buddy, pal.

Aces The very best.

Ace of Spades Solo term for death in combat. To "draw the ace" is to die in battle. "Drawing the ace" is a short-hand expression with the same meaning.

Aesthetics Simple cosmetic surgery (Drazen Body Mod Shop).

AI Artificial Intelligence. A computer or network-based entity, originally designed to solve complex problems, that has achieved self-awareness. Usually under the control of a megacorp, but not always (see Rogue).

Alien Derogatory grounder term for someone who lives in space (eg. L4, Crystal Palace).

AMF "Adios, ". Good-bye. Typically derogatory.

Angel A benefactor, especially an unknown one.

AniMan, AniMen Derogatory term for a body sculpted individual who resembles an animal form.

APC An abbreviation for an Armored Personnel Carrier, eg. an Ares Citymaster, or LAV-93 "Devil Rat."

Arc, Arco An arcology. A self-contained living environment, usually pyramidal or domed. May belong to a corporation, government agency, or non-profit organization. From arcology, eg. the TBO Building eastside.

Artist An extremely professional hit-man, who usually has a signature.

ASIST "Artificial Sensory Induction System Technology." The industry name for simsense.

AV Pronounced "Aie-Vee", shorthand term for a variety of hover-vans.

Avatar Decker slang for a personal Matrix icon. Also called, a persona.



BA Pronounced "Bee-Aye", shorthand for either Bad-Ass or Black Agent (q.v.).

Badge Police or corporate security.

Bagged and Tagged To die.

Bagman Street slang for a criminal courier. (eg. Someone working for Kingpin and Janya)

Bakebrain General purpose derogatory term indicating someone with limited or damage mental faculties (frequently due to excessive use of neural cyberware.) (Syn. asshole, idiot, jerk, moron.)

Ballerina A reflex boosted female assassin in the employ of a major corp.

'Base Database.

B.B. Either "Big Brother" or "Boys in Black". See Boys in Black.

B-D Breakdown.

Bennie An out-of-towner (see Gaijin).

Berserkide Any combat drug, particularly dancers. (Syn. freakers.)

Biff The modern equivalent of the archaic term, "bimbo."

Bioroid A full-body conversion cyborg.

Bioware Any biological enhancement or replacement. See wetware.

Bithead Slang for a decker or "nerdy" computer enthusiast (cf. wirehead 1.).

Bit Jockey Programmer.

Bitty Box A primitive, underpowered, or generally useless computer or other electronic device.

Biz Street slang for crime. From, "business."

Black, Big Black (HR) Space. The final frontier. Where no man... well, you get the idea.

Black Agent (Corp) An illegal operative.

Black Ops Any unofficial, corporate shadow-operations, either in-house or hired-out.

Black Ice Illegal countermeasure software which causes physical harm or death to an intruder (see Ice).

Black Clinic A medical facility which specializes in the implant of illegal or unregistered cyberware.

Blade 1) A professional soldier or fighter, specializing in edged weapons. 2) A surgeon or doctor.

Bleed To attack, injure, or kill.

Blood Money Income from the illegal sale of organs to a body bank.

Blowing Code A decker term for inputing or uploading information.

Blue Moon An honest NC police officer.

Body Sculpt The process of having the body totally re-molded by vat-grown tissue & advanced plastic surgery. (eg. myomer

replacement muscle)

Booster 1) Any gang member who displays a strong affinity for cyberware. 2) Gang member that uses cyberware, leathers, and violence as a way of life.

Boostergang A gang that uses cyberware, leathers, and violence as a way of life.

Bopper A robot.

'Borg'ed Excessive use of cybernetic body modifications.

Bount Bounty hunter.

Bosozuki (jap) a "street samurai."

Bount A bounty hunter.

Brain Potato A Blue 18 addict.

Brandy A highly popular, off-the-shelf, female avatar, with customizable body attributes & facial expressions.

Breeder One who has sex without thought to the ramifications of nuclear radiated DNA being passed on.

Tunnel Crowd Commuters from the west side who work in the corporate district. Or visa versa.

Bronze slang (usually derogative) term for law enforcement officials.

Breetva (Rus.) Razor. Anyone with combat-oriented cyberware.

Bruce Pronunciation of the hacker acronym BRS (Big Red Switch). 1) To deactivate a machine. 2) To kill someone or render them senseless. To schythe.

Buck Rogers Derogatory phrase for an individual (usually a Solo) obsessed with high-tech weaponry (e.g. lasers, microwaves.)

Buff To attack viciously with intent to maim or kill.

Bug-Out To flee from a situation or area.

Business, "Biz" In slang context, crime.

Buzz Buzz off. Go away. Leave.

BWANT A NeoChiacgo term meaning, to attack all out for no apparent reason. See slammit-on 2.

Bwant Decker slang for a very untrustworthy employer, likely to be selling a death wish.



Cat A cat burglar.

Catalog A Class-A information dossier. Public Records.

Causing static Starting trouble.

Cement poisoning What a person dies of after being pushed off of a multi-story building and hitting the sidewalk. Also known as deceleration trauma.

Chalk outline See Sidewalk outline.

Check out To die.

Chilled A hip term meaning, to be cool, together.

Chinese Take-out Anything extremely jumbled or messy. (e.g. "That riotgun made his chest look like Chinese take-out.").

Chip-truth The absolute truth.

Choombata, Choomba (Bantu) Friend. Buddy. Neo-African slang for a friend/family member. Roughly equivalent to chummer.

Choob Jerk, nerd, weirdo.

Chop A credstick.

Chop shop A black clinic (q.v.).

Chromatic 1) Heavy Metal music. 2) Of or relating to Heavy Metal music 3) Anything wild, fantastic, or bodacious.

Chrome 1) Flash, glitter, bells and whistles, tinsel. Material used to spice up the appearance of something. 2) Sexy features on a program, not needed for functionality but radiating style (e.g. a guillotine instead of a trash can icon). 3) Generic reference to cyberware.

Chrome-Bangers Derogatory term for the C-SWAT team or "psychosquad". (Syn. "Circuit Breakers".)

Chromed The state of being equipped with obvious offensive augmentations.

Chromer 1) Metalheads, heavy metal fans. 2) A member of a gang dedicated to hard (chromatic) rock music (usually a specific band) and mindless violence. The original "party animals".

Chuck Caucasian person. Usually derogatory.

Chummliechen The German form of chummer.

Chummer "Pal" or "Buddy". May be used sarcastically.

Chunking Eating on the run, eating as a secondary activity.

Cinema A movie or simsense, usually in tri-d.

CIRS Cybernetic Implant Rejection Syndrome: a psychotic aberration suffered by excessive users of cyberware.

Cleaner An assassin (or team) used to eliminate all traces of a mission, including the participants.

Clint The male counterpart to a Brandy, but handsome & cragy, with chisled features & limited facial expressions.

Collar (Derogatory) A white-collar worker, usually a low-level employee of a megacorp.

Combat Drugs Designer drugs for military use.

Combat Zones Areas of urban decay in major cities, characterized by high crime rates, unmaintained streets and buildings, poor police coverage, high concentrations of homeless people, and frequent outbreaks of (often gang-related) violence.

COM-INT An abbreviation for COMmunications INTelligence, ie. bugs & wire-taps, and their users.

Comm Short form of Complant.

Config (HR) To arrange something.

Corp 1) Corporation. 2) Of or relating to a corporation, its assets, personnel, or anything corporate.

Corpse 1) A corporate executive, a CORPorate Sleaziness Expert. 2) A corporate assassin, CORPorate Security Expert.

Cortex bomb A small, implanted explosive device (usually in the skull) that detonates in response to a timer or remote signal. Usually implanted against the wearer's will to keep them in line. Most cortex bombs will detonate automatically if tampered with.

Cowboy A very hot, professional deckjockey.

Crease To kill. - Creased: Killed.

Cred Money, typically electronic funds.

Credstick A small, tapered, plastic cylinder, that serves as credit card.

CSC A "Computer Sabotage Consultant". A tactful form of address for a netrunner. See Deckjockey.

Cube A decker who operates within the confines of the law, ie. the 3-dimensional evolution of the term, "square."

Culture Vulture A member of the media.

Curse, the CIRS.

Cut-Out Chip A quasi-legal piece of neural cyberware, that selectively turns off specified stimuli from/to the brain. (eg. Puppet Jack)

C-YA Pronounced as "see ya", acronym for "Cover Your Ass".

Cyberaxe Any musical instrument (although typically a guitar) that is equipped with a cybernetic interface.

Cyberdeck Hardware used to access cyberspace through a DNI link.

Cyberpsychosis A psychotic aberration suffered by excessive users of cyberware (see CIRS).

Cyberspace 1) The conceptual space within a computer. 2) The conceptual medium within which computer communication takes place, e.g. Electronic Bulletin Boards, online services, databases, or in general the program space of any computer which can run a communication program. 3) A slang term for the global computer network.

Cyberware Any cybernetic/bionic body implant which replaces or augments a specific body function.

Cylon Derogatory term for corporate security personnel.



Daddy, Dadie An "add-on" chip; a cyber-data chip (skill soft) containing a programmed skill which augments existing skills or provides new ones. These chips provide "instant" training of a normally unknown ability (e.g. flying a jet).

Dark, the (HR) Space. (See Big Black.)

Dataslave A corporate decker or a data processing employee.

Datasteal Theft of data from a computer, usually by decking.

DDR An expert in "Difficult Data Retrieval". A tactful form of address for a netrunner. See Deckjockey.

Deceleration trauma See Cement poisoning.

Deck 1) Cyberdeck. 2) To use a cyberdeck illegally.

Decker A pirate cyberdeck user. Derived from 20th century term "hacker." See Deckjockey.

Deckjockey An expert cyberdeck user, usually a specialist and covertly accessing and stealing from corporate databases.

Deep Reality The real world we live in. As opposed to the realities we create for ourselves within our minds (e.g. fantasy games) and in our processors (e.g. cyberspace).

DeeVee Devalue. To make something worthless.

Deltajock A hotshot pilot.

Derm 1) An adhesive skin patch used to apply medication. 2) A designer drug, applied to the dermis, that increases healing and limits fatigue along with other possible effects.

De-Rezz 1) To terminate a program. 2) To kill someone.

DI Digital Intelligence. A computer intelligence made up of the recorded knowledge of one or more human experts. This is less complex and expensive than developing an AI (q.v.).

Die of the measles In military parlance, an assassination which makes the death appear to be of natural causes.

Dilligaf! I could care less. Buzz off! Go away! From the acronym, "Do I Look Like I Give A Frag?"

Dinks Any member of a rival boostergang.

Dirtboy Airborne rigger slang for a male non-flier.

Dirtnap Slang for death, as in "he's takin' a dirtnap."

Dirtside (HR) A reference to a planetary surface (as opposed to space).

Dirtsider (HR) Derogatory term for someone who rarely or never is in space. (Devon is probably the only person

who can currently use this insult)

Dirty 1) Derogatory term for low-tech (paper & pencil, walking, etc.) 2) Any traceable illegal item. 3) Contaminated.

Dis Disrespect; to treat with disrespect.

Disappear To cause a person, and all known references to that person, to become difficult or impossible to find.

DNI Direct Neural Interface.

Do Ugly To beat up or be beaten up (e.g. "Boy, somebody sure did him ugly!")

Dock (HR) To have sex.

Domo Arigato (jap) "thank you."

'Dorph A synthetic analogue for endorphins (organic painkillers produced naturally by the human body). Used to suppress pain and shock. Addictive. White derms, painkiller cartridge for a cybernetic pump)

Dorph Gang A type of street gang that takes and distributes synthetic endorphin drugs.

'Dorpher Member of a gang primarily identified by their heavy and frequent drug use. Very unpredictable.

Double Tap To kill cleanly with a single gunshot (ref. entry and exit wounds). (E.g. "Someone double tapped him right between the eyes.")

Doughboy/girl 1) Derogatory term for someone wearing too much body armor. 2) Psycho

Downtime Free time; off the job.

Draga (Hungarian) Expensive.

Drek Common curse word (archaic "shit"). adj: drekky.

Drig Copulation. Expletive.

Dr. Know 1) A contact who always seems to have useful info. 2) a seller of knowledge

Duck A person who carries more weapons than could possibly be needed.

Dumped Involuntarily ejected from the matrix. (Also while rigging or during a simsense viewing).

Dump shock The disorientation resulting from the rapid cutoff of a simsense signal.

Dust To kill.

DZ Abbreviation for Drop Zone, a parachutist's/pilot's touch-down target. Also landing zone (see also Hot LZ).



Edgezone A strip, grey area, area of potential "coolness".

Electrocur A guard dog with augmented offensive capabilities.(eg. NCSP Hellhound)

ELINT ("EE-lint") An abbreviation for Electronic Intelligence.

ELSUR ("EL-sur") An abbreviation for Electronic Surveillance.

Exec Corporate executive.

Exotic An obviously biosculpted individual, usually with non-human features (fangs, fur, tail, etc.).

Expert System A sophisticated program with access to a large database, capable of analyzing & making decisions.

Extraction 1) A corporate kidnapping. 2) The removal of a (combat) team from its operational area.



Face, The Decker slang for 1) an interface, 2) jacking-into the Matrix.

Faceman A sub-fixer in the employ of a major fixer, supporting that superiors network.

Foot, Feet Derogatory term for police. (From flatfoot.)

Ferryman Term for an expert assassin. Believed to be derived from the famed Eurosolo Charon, who took his handle from the figure in Greek mythology who ferried the dead across the river Styx to Hades.

FIBUA Samurai slang for urban combat. From the acronym, "Fighting In Built-Up Areas."

Firelane The clear area a weapon can put its shots into.

Fixer A go-between, deal maker, information broker. Also a fence or mover of illegal goods.

Flash - 1) Anything spectacular (e.g. "That deck has a lot of flash!") 2) Debit cards (e.g. "Loan me some flash.")

Flatline 1) A state of death (ref. flat EEG traces upon brain-death) which may refer to either a machine (usually a deck or other computer) or a person. Usually a result of an encounter with black ice during a netrun. 2) To die, usually killed in the matrix by Black IC.

Flickercladding A synthetic plastic material impregnated with fiber optics and temperature gauges designed to respond to skin temperature, a 21st century version of the mood ring, but is worn as clothing. (eg. Flashwear)

Floor Routine From gymnastics, a (usually futile) attempt to dodge automatic weapons fire.

Fodder A derogatory term fixers use for solos.

Fold - To shut down something or someone (e.g. "This operation is about to fold.")

Fossil 1) An elderly person. 2) Someone who refuses to give up old ways. 3) Any old or obsolete item.

Frag 1) Common curse word. adj: Fragging. 2) To kill someone with a fragmentation grenade.

Fred 1) Any straight, unimaginative citizen, usually a shirt (q.v.). 2) An elder person or someone who clings to outmoded ideas or practices (from Fred Flintstone). See Fossil.

Fringe, The Edges of society where nomads hang out, barrens. (Wastelands)

Fumigation An assault in which no survivors are left.

Furball 1) Any sort of confusion, snarl-up, or traffic jam. 2) An intense, chaotic battle.

Futokoro-Gatana (jap) A right-hand man. Lit. "blossom dagger," he who'd kill you if you were in too much pain to complete sepuku.



Gahump A General Purpose Heavy Maching Gun, possibly from the failed attempt to pronounce its acronym (?).

Gaijin (Jap.) A derogatory term for a foreigner or outsider.

Gander Street slang for a pimp (see also goose).

Gangbanger A member of a street gang.

Garbage Detail (Corp) A retaliatory raid, usually against a streetgang or street-ronin, which takes corporate solos into non-corporate controlled parts of the city. (Syn. "trash run".)

Gargoyle Someone whose job is gathering intelligence in the field, normally bedecked with surveillance gear.

Gato (Spanish) A smooth operator, cool person; a Fixer.

Geek To kill or die.

Geese the plural form of "goose," ie. more than one prostitute.

Gewalt (Ger.) Violence.

Ghost A deckjockey who assists a "physical entry team" by entered and controlling the computer of the target site.

Gillette A heavily cybered samurai, or other mucsle (see razorguy).

Giri (Jap.) A debt of honor; duty or obligation.

Glitter Clothes Clothes made of flickercladding.

Glitterboy/girl A rich person, media figure, rock star or simsense star.

Glitter Folk Rich people who only have time and money.

Glom To group or gather, as in "to glom at a concert" or "they glommed at Matchsticks last night."

Go-(go-)gang A bike gang.

Go LEO To make a trip into Low Earth Orbit. (L4, Crystal Palace)

Gomi (Jap.) Junk, garbage. Japanese slang term for any site that has been reclaimed and built on.

Gonk Idiot or fool.

Goose Street slang for a prostitute.

Gothic A member of a posergang whose motif is death and old black & white movies.

Grounder A (usually derogatory) term used by highriders for planet-side residents.

Guardian Angel Solo on a bodyguard job. (Syn. "bullet-stopper".)

Gumby From Monty Python, an act of minor but conspicuous stupidity (e.g. "Pulling a gumby.")

Gumi (jap) The Yakuza syndicate. Lit. "extended family."

Gutter Jumpers Claim jumpers among the homeless, squatters.

Gutterpunk A slang term for street riffraff.



Hackware Software produced by amateurs. Distinguished by the fact that it works and is ready 2 years before the professional version. Characterized by non-standard code, lack of comments, and great chrome.

HALO an abbreviation for any High-Altitude Low Open para-glider/chute operation or insertion.

Handle A working nick-name by which one is known on the streets. Also street-name.

Hard Cool, hip, tough. A flattering term.

Hardsuit A suit of powered-armor.(eg. RSI light infantry armor)

Hardwired 1) Having Cyberware. 2) Unable to change, inflexible options.

Harry Complimentary term applied to an especially lethal piece of hardware.

Heatwave A police crackdown.

Hexed 1) Afflicted with cyberpsychosis. 2) Obsessed with the Net.

Highrider Someone who lives or works in space (typically, all of their life).

Hikunuki (jap) To kidnap from a corporation. Lit. "to extract."

Hoi Hi, Hello.

Holo A holographically generated image.

Hoop A mild curse word, referring to a person's backside.

Hound-Tipping Street practice of ambushing and reprogramming NCSP Hellhounds.

Hose 1) Make a mistake; screw up. 2) To spray someone with automatic weapons fire.



Ice Security software. Intrusion Countermeasures, or IC.

Icebreaker Any program or software designed to penetrate or foil ice.

Indie Independent, underground, self-employed.

Info Bro Information broker.

Input Girlfriend, female companion.

Insertion The delivery of a team near or to its operational area.

Iron Usually weapons, but can also refer to vehicles.

Iron, Big Heavy duty weapons or vehicles.



Jack - 1) Jack In, or enter cyberspace. Jack Out, or leave cyberspace. 2) A DNI connection (usually in the skull) for a cyberdeck.

Jacked 1) Senses, skills, reflexes, muscles, and so on enhanced by cyberwear. 2) To be connected to cyberspace, a rigged vehicle/security system, or a simsense playback unit.

Jacked-In Actively using a cyberdeck.

Jake 1)A homosexual prostitute. 2) A hustler. (Both uses are derogatory.)

Jam 1) To fight or run away. 2) To have sex.

Jamming 1) Sex. 2) Moshing heavily in a band. 3) Being involved in a paramilitary operation involving a large amount of flying bullets and shrapnel.

Jander To walk in a casual or arrogant manner, to strut.

Jazzed Equipped with reflex-enhancing cyberware.

Johnson See Mr. Johnson.

JoyBoy/JoyGirl Prostitute.

Joytoy A prostitute who has been cybernetically modified or sculpted to match the specifications of the user.

Juvie/Juve 1) Street slang for anything relating to a juvenile. 2) A legal minor, eg. anyone under 18-years-old.



Kambu Atsukai (jap) Lit. "low-level executives;" ie. sararimen.

Kamikaze (jap) Lit. "divine wind." 1) Any suicide pilot. 2) A taxi driver. 3) A tailored highly alcoholic beverage

Keeping Up with the Villiers To maintain a state-of-the-art or cutting edge tech-level. From Fuchi Corp's CEO.

Keiretsu (Jap.) A corporate, cartel, or conglomerate.

Khorosho (Rus.) Good. OK. Fine.

Kibble Card Government food ration card.

Kick Artist Street slang for a person hired to threaten or beat up someone, but not to kill them.

Killzone 1) The body areas where a weapon will kill its target. 2) The maximum destruction area of an ambush site.

Kittycat Run A drek run (q.v.), so named when a Johnson had a group of runners rescue a kidnapped feline.

Klepto, Kleptoid Thief, prowler.

Kludge A makeshift or temporary solution to a problem, usually sloppy and inefficient.

Knife Bullets Armor piercing ammunition.

Know, The Knowledge or information.

Kobun Wa (jap) Lit. "good evening."

Konnichi Wa (jap) Lit. "good afternoon."

Kobun A Yakuza clan member.

Krovvy (Rus.) Bloody.

-Kun (jap) Lit. a familiar, almost paternal, name suffix/form of address.

Kuromaku (jap) A fixer. Lit. "one who arranges." From the operator of puppets who stands behind a black stage.



Landing Hot A fast landing under hostile fire or in a damaged vehicle.

Latch Jockey Digital hardware designer

Leash A corporate safeguard implanted into an employee to ensure loyalty and continued service. Cortex bombs and sabotaged chipware are common examples.

Lector Complimentary term used by boostergang members about a non-gang member when impressed by that individuals ability to perform acts of extreme violence.

Leech Street-doc or med-tech, particularly one that is expensive or unrelaible.

Like kicking dead whales down the beach Any slow and disgusting job or process

Liquefier, liquidizer Any weapon capable of inflicting obscene amounts of damage to the human body, particularly automatic shotguns.

Liquid Knuckles Any powerful chemical akin to Mace; including Mace-XII and certain neurostun variants.

Lizard Brain a cold, calculating, unemotional person, somebody always running in pure floating point mode (e.g. Mr. Spock).

Lo-Tek's Originally a Denver street-gang, now taken to mean any urbanite who adopts a low technology lifestyle.

Lunchmeat Of or relating to the remains of any unarmored person hit by heavy weapons. Also hamburger.

Lurker A decker who only sneaks into systems to look around, never taking anything.

LZ An abbreviation for Landing Zone. Also drop zone or DZ.



Maglev Shorthand term for a magnetic levitation train.

Make a deposit in the body bank to die.

Marionette A meat puppet.

Marley A complementary term, often applied musical performances (eg. "a Marley of a concert"). See Harry.

Matrix Another term for cyberspace, the consensual, V.R. hallucination of the world-wide computer network, its systems, icons, & sites.

Max-Tac A MAXimun force TACtical division, eg. C-SWAT.

Meat 1) Decker slang for the physical body, un-cybered flesh, or anything else undesirable. 2) A decker curse-word, equivalent to "drek!"

Meat Bop Parts Vat grown replacement body parts.

Meat Puppet A prostitute whose memory and/or senses are disabled temporarily.

Meat Rack A house of ill repute.

Meat-Space Decker slang for the physical world, ie. the opposite of cyberspace.

Mechanic See cleaner.

Medico The heavily armored, non-offensive, biotech position on an urban brawl team.

Mega, Megacorp Large (global or extra-planetary) corporation.

Mentat Brainy individual, specifically one who will stare at a problem without moving for a while and come up with an answer without doing any apparent intermediate steps (like writing things down).

Metalhead 1) Individual with a fully mechanical body - a full 'Borg. 2) A heavy metal fan.

Metro, the The subway or underground.

Microsoft See Biosoft.

Mierda A Spanish equivalent to drek.

Mileetsya (Rus.) Corruption of the Russian pronunciation of "Militia", typically used in reference to corporate security or the military.

MIL-INT 1) An abbreviation for MILitary INTelligence. 2) Anything inherently oxymoronic.

Mnemonic Someone who uses a brain implant as an electronic vault.

Moddy A personality module. A cyber-data chip which allows the user to assume (and become totally submerged in) the personality of another person (real or fictional).

Monkey The business term for an expendable person. (See also Scratch Monkey.)

Monkey Trick A job in which a monkey (q.v.) is not expected to survive intact.

Morningstar Generic term for incendiary or fragmentation grenades or devices, particularly white phosporous.

Motorhead A rigger (q.v.) or mechanic.

Mouse Around To explore in a very low profile manner (e.g. "Let's mouse around the perimeter and see if we can find a way in.").

Mr. Johnson Any anonymous employer or corporate agent.

Mr. Who (Also "The Who") label for an employer or person of higher authority.

Mudgirl Airborne rigger slang for a female non-flyer.

Mundane A non-magician, or non-magical.

MuscleBoy/Girl A person with muscle grafts.

Mushi (Jap.) Computer glitch.

Muzak-Man Derogatory term for a rocker who has sold out to an entertainment corporation. (Syn. "synth-soul" or "castrato".)



Naked See running naked.

Nano-Tech The science responsible for cyberware. Lit. "one step beyond micro-technology."

Neh - exp. (Jap.) Interrogative; "Right?", lit. "negative."

Nerdlings Immature nerds, implying inconsequential, generally annoying. Pejorative term.

Nerks Agents or officials of the National Emergency Resource Control Commission (under the Provisional U.S. government).

Nervewires Cybernetic reflex enhancements, normally Wired Reflexes.

Net Another term for cyberspace.

NetFet Net Fetishist. Derogatory term for a netrunner who can only relate to life in the Net.

NetNerd Someone who spends more time in the matrix than in the real world.

Netrun A session spent interfaced to a cyberdeck and exploring the matrix (cyberspace), usually in the course of invading a corporate database.

Netrunner A decker, not necessarily implying illegal activities. See also Deckjockey.

New-Ones A slang term for Nuyen, as in "she gave you fifty new-ones."

NewTek An item or device exhibiting the very latest technological advances.

NIMBY ("NIM-bee") One who is in favor of an unpleasant or dangerous action, so long as it occurs elsewhere. From acronym, "Not In My BackYard."

Nine A pistol (from 9mm.)

Ninja A freelance assassin.

Noisy Run 1) A high profile shadowrun, designed to attract (otherwise, unwanted) attention. 2) A tactical diversion. See tailchaser.

NukeGake (jap) Lit. a warrior who sneaks out from camp to attack the enemy solo, thus gaining personal honor.

Null Persp A slang expression meaning, "no problem," "all right," or "affirmative." From the archaic expression, "no sweat."

Nutrisoy Cheap processed food product derived from soybeans, fortified with most essential vitamins.

Nuyen World standard of currency. Used for Japanese foreign markets.



Ohayo Gozaimsu (jap) Lit. "good morning."

Olly A particularly dangerous form of Samurai, who threatens his friends and associates.

One and Twenty, the The twenty-first century.

Oo'zhas (Rus.) Awful. Terrible.

Ops The abbreviated form of "operations," normally refering to a dangerous or paramility activity.

Organitskaya (Rus.) The Russian Mob.

Otaku A child with the natural ability to run in the Matrix, without a cyberdeck.

Output Boyfriend, male companion.

Outrigger The motorcycle riding, non-offensive position on an urban brawl team.

Oyabun Head of a Yakuza clan.



Panther Cozy Any large bag used in a futile attempt to conceal an assault cannon.

Panzer Any ground-effect or hovercraft combat vehicle.

Panzerjock An expert panzer operator.

Paranoid Someone who has all the facts.

Parraquiano (spn) Lit. "a patron."

Paydata Datafile worth money on the black market.

Perp Perpetrator. A criminal or suspected criminal.

Persona A personal Matrix icon. See avatar.

Pervo A freakish-looking individual.

Pig-Rig A police car.

Pinkskin A rural-dwelling white or non-Amerind, who affects a low-tech lifestyle.

Plastic Gangster A person with a great deal of cyberware.

Plex A metropolitan complex, or "metroplex".

PLR A cyberdeck plug-in, designed to negate the effects of black IC. From the acronym, "Phase-Loop Recourser."

Pods People who are very much alike in thought, behavior, and appearance. Pejorative term. Also Podlings - particularly immature variations of the Pods.

Poli A policlub or a policlub member.

Polymer One-shot A cheap line of polymer plastic, non-reloadable handguns. Very inexpensive, and very unreliable, they come in a variety of colors.

Pony A low-level streetdealer, lower on the social scale than a Fixer (q.v.). (Origin: from a pony"s ability to carry, but possibly also from London slang: pony = 20 pounds(); ponies very rarely sell expensive items.)

Poppers Pop-up weaponry concealed in a cyberlimb.

Porky Someone who loves or collects weapons, and is usually bristling with them (from "porcupine").

Poser 1) A person who pretends to be something they are not, especially through surgery. 2) A posergang member.

Poser Gang Any gang whose members all adopt a specific look or style.

Priyatel (rus) Lit. "chummer."

Progs, Proggies Agents or officials of the Provisional Government of the United States.

Proles Lower class individuals, usually non-citizens; Street scum. See Zero.

Puerco (spn) Lit. "pig."

Punch 1) To force one's way into a protected system. 2) To enter commands on a cyberdeck. Also to punch deck.

Puppet 1) An illegal cut-out chip that turns off most of the conscious mind, commonly fitted to prostitutes. 2) See Meat Puppet.

Puppet Gang Any gang controlled by a corporation.

Puppet Parlor A house of ill-repute, ie. populated by meat puppets.

Puta (spn) Lit. "whore."



Quakers Missiles or rockets.



R&P "Rape and Pillage." To engage in an activity with excessive force or violence.

Rainbow File The research and development data of a company.

Rakusho-dayo! (jap) Lit. "No problem!"

Ram Personality (from computer jargon, RAM).

Ramjammer A decker, more often a juggler, addicted to violent confrontations in the Matrix.

Ray-Ban Mode wearing shades.

Razor[boy/girl/gal/guy/etc] 1) Heavily cybered samurai or other muscle-for-hire. 2) A person who uses various bladed implant weapons.

Reality Junkie Addicts to Virtual Reality, the Net, or video games.

Reason 1) A slang name for a minigun. 2) A railgun.

Reconfig To kill or die in a particularly messy fashion, usually with a knife.

Recycling Environmentally friendly act of killing someone and taking the corpse to a body bank.

Reduce Slang for physical violence (e.g. "Hey asshole, shut down (q.v.) your screamer (q.v.) or I'll reduce your face!"). See also packing, spindling, stomping, etc.

Reduction The act of reducing something or someone.

Rimbo A gun-totting sex kitten (a rambo bimbo).

Ripperdoc A surgeon who specializes in implanting illegal or unregistered cyberware.

Rippers A slang term for hand razors.

Rock To kick or punch someone violently, especially in the head. Derived from the Jailhouse Rock fighting style.

Rocker, Rockerboy/girl Any musician or stage performer who uses their art to make political or social statements. As opposed to "Rockstars" who are "owned" by recording companies or other corps. and are apolitical.

R.O.E. A samurai term for the specific conditions of a particular contract. From, "Rules Of Engagement."

Rogue An AI (q.v.) which has "escaped" from it's node in cyberspace and is no longer under human control. Simulant.

Roid 1) A slang term for a steroid. 2) A derm.

Ronin A freelance assassin or mercenary. Usually considered to be untrustworthy.

RV 1) A RendezVous point. Also a pickup zone or PZ. 2) Slang for an APC. From "Recreational Vehicle."



Samurai (Jap.) Mercenary or muscle-for-hire. Implies code of honor. (Syn. Street samurai.)

San (jap) A respectful form of address or title. Lit. "Mr, Mrs, Ms, Sir, or Madam."

SAN A doorway between a computer and the outside world. From the UMSC abbreviation, "System Access Node."

Sand Phonetic pronunciation of the phrase "S-and-D", for "Search and Destroy." To sand someone or something is to locate and severely damage them or it.

Sarariman (Jap.) A corporate employee. From the Pidgin-English pronounciation of "salaryman."

Sardine A soldier wearing Powered Armor.

Scout Any of the four, lightly armored, offensive positions on an urban brawl team.

Scratch Money.

Scratch Monkey (Obsc. hacker ref.) Any expendable substitute used in place of a more valuable item, on the off chance that it might be damaged or destroyed. (see Monkey, Monkey trick)

Screamer 1) Slang for mouth (e.g. "Hey asshole, shut down (q.v.) your screamer!" 2) Something fast, sleek, and sexy, used as an expression of admiration (e.g. "She/He/It's a real screamer!) 3) Somebody who screams a lot while being reduced (q.v.) 4) Somebody who screams a lot while being tightly interfaced (q.v.). 5) Credstick (or card) or other ID that triggers computer alarms if used.

Scroll, the 1) The constant, unremitting, and overwhelming barrage of information absorbed by everyone in modern society from the modern media, from cyberspace feed, from the grapevine, and from any other means we have of tuning in to the world state. (E.g. we find out about the latest war in the Middle East, the latest hardware, the latest vaporware from The Scroll.) 2) The term used to describe the messages, bulletins, and other data daily being produced and scrolled off various cyberspace systems.

Seoul Man A member of a Seoulpa Ring.

Seoulpa Ring A small criminal gang with web-like connections to others like it.

Sepuku (jap) Lit. the traditional, ritual, Japanese suicide. Also harakiri.

Shag To bamboozle, cheat or trick.

Shakatu (jap) Lit. "company house."

Shalkujin An "honest" citizen.

Shirt A white-collar worker, usually a low level corporate employee.

Shoemaker A street slang term for a producer of fake credsticks or identification (ie. shoes).

Short-circ See Fuse.

Shortwire To burn out, flame out, splash down and generally crash mentally.

Shredder A minigun or auto-cannon.

Shut Down to shut up, used as an exclamation (e.g. "Hey asshole, shut down!")

Sidewalk outline A recently deceased person, or to one who expected to die soon. The reference is to the chalk outline drawn around a dead body at a murder scene by the police.

SimStim Simulated stimulation of the senses, usually from a DNI recording.

SIN Single (or System) Identification Number. An ID number unique to each citizen. Many streetpeople (nomads, derelicts) are said to be "SINless", i.e. without a SIN. This makes them unknown (non-existent) to the system. It allows them to move about in society more freely than a "recorded" citizen, but also allows the enforcers of society (police and corp. security) to punish/abuse them without due process since, technically, they "do not exist".

SINless someone without a SIN. See Blank.

SINner 1) An honest citizen, ie. one who has a SIN. 2) A corporate employee.

Skagman A dealer in illegal wire or chips.

Skat A gross-looking individual.

Skeinsuit A near-frictionless bodyweave/catsuit, used for maneuvering through tight places, such as ventilation ducts.

Skeleton All the collected electronic records kept on an individual; their electronic identity.

Skirt An ordinary (defenseless) person (male or female.)

Skiv To rob on the street.

Skrag 1) To kill, to "off." 2) To destroy.

Skyball A satellite (usually surveillance).

Slam To assault or beat up (e.g. "Let's go slam some 'dorphers.")

Slam it Generic expletive (Syn. kiss off, up yours.)

Slammit On 1) To get violent. 2) To attack someone without reason.

Slap Patch See derm.

Slave 1) Of or relating to a corporate employee. 2) Specifically, a wage-, mage-, or data-slave.

Slice 1) A credit card. 2) An electric-powered racing cycle.

Slice n' dice A mono-filament cyberweapon, usually mounted in the tip of a finger, which is used as a garrotte or whip. It will cut through almost all organic material and most plastics.

Slicer One who ride a slice (q.v.).

Slicks A slang term for Teflon-coated bullets, ie. primitive armor piercing.

Slicksuit See skeinsuit.

Slit A slang term for a female.

Slitch Another slang term for a female.

Slot 1) Mild curse word (i.e. "Slot THIS, chummer!"). 2) To plug a moddy or daddy into a DNI ( i.e. to use a skillsoft.) 3) To have sex.

Slot and run Hurry up, get to the point, move it.

Smart Any device which has been augmented to interface with a user via cyberware; usually applies to weapons

Smudge Pronunciation of the acronym SMG (SubMachineGun); thus, a submachinegun.

So ka (Jap.) I understand, I get it.

Solo A mercenary who works the streets. A "for-hire" combat specialist. Used as bodyguards, assassins, and soldiers, individually or in groups.

Somethin' I don't have to stick in my fraggin' head A common response to a drug dealers' "whadda ya need?"-line.

S.O.P. Any set of standing orders, used when commo is compromised. From "Standard Operating Procedueres."

Sota State of the Art

Soykaf Coffee substitute made from soybeans.

Spare Parts 1) A corpse. 2) Any vat-grown or donated body-part (wheather by choice or not).

Sphincter Factor A level of disgust, nervousness, or fear (usually on a scale of 1 to 10.)

Spill To spend money.

Spit Jockey On camera (video): news reader, anchor, host. (also known as Talking Heads)

Splash To shoot down. E.g. to splash an idea, or "Splash that bastard!"

Splat job A dead body, usually messy. Also sometimes used to describe a person (or persons) who are "cannon fodder" and are not expected to live much longer.

SplatMaster Generic term for any paintball-type air pistol. Formerly a trademarked name.

Sprawl 1) A huge metropolitan area, usually consisting of several merged mega-cities, covered a large portion of a landmass. 2) The prone position the bronze order perps to assume. 3) To fraternize below one's social level.

Sprawling A corporate pass-time, involving visiting dangerous areas of town, with minimal protection. From slumming.

Squat 1) Of or relating to any low-class housing. 2) A dwarf or dwarven, highly insulting. See also Stuntie.

Squatter An impoverished citizen--one step up from being homeless, but just barely.

SQUID A Navy "Superconducting QUantum Interference conDuctor" device, able to read headware memory.

State of the Art (Aka SOTA) 1) Hipper than Hip. 2) To be on the edge (usually technologically).

Straightener A less than affectionate form of address for a psychiatrist. Aka "shrink".

Straphangers Derogatory term for commuters.

Streak To run naked in the Matrix.

Streaker A decker who prefers to streak.

Street, The 1) The Underground or Black Market. 2) The sub-culture. 3) The place where you live late at night.

Street Doc A ripperdoc who performs emergency wound surgery as well.

Streetmeat A term for people not equiped to survive on the streets: hicks, sprawling suits, or involuntary meat puppets.

Streetname A nickname, handle, or working name by which one it known by on the streets.

Street Samurai A samurai who works for gangs, mobsters, or him/herself.

Stud 1) See Jack. 2) A slang term for anyone (or the state of being) jacked-into a machine, other than a cyberdeck.

Stud/Studding Rigging or remote control of a vehicle.

Stuffit 1) To have sex. 2) To forget about something.

Stuka A slang term for diving, "as in he did a stuka into the pool" or "he stukad underneath the table."

Stunning Mind-bogglingly stupid. Used sarcastically.

Suit A straight citizen, usually a corporate employee.

Surprise Party What your opponents are likely to get if you break your PR bracelet during a firefight.

Suss To solve a problem, figure out something, understand.

Svoluch (Rus.) 1) Derogatory term for someone with honor. 2) A bastard.

Swag A commodity, usually a datafile, worth money on the black market. See paydata.

Swarm Any large nomad convoy.

SWAT Special Weapons And Tactics.

Sweedack Concurrence, or "I agree". From the French Canadian "Je suis d'accord."

Synth-soul See Muzak-Man.

System Identification Number See SIN.



Tag 1) Name, handle or trademark 2) To grab or take something. 3) To mark destinctively.

Tagged Equipped with a tracking device. Recognized.

Tag Team A (usually corporate-sponsored) gang whose fights with other Tag Teams are covered by the vid networks as a commercial combat sport.

Tailchaser A high profile or noisy run to retrieve false or planted info, thus proving the info's validity.

Tanj! A mild expletive decrying "the unfairness of it all." From the acronym, "There Ain't No Justice!"

Tanstaafl! An abbreviation for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch," meaning, "ya gotta pay as ya go."

Taxi Driver A street slang term for the combat drug Kamikaze, and others.

Taxilingua The language spoken exclusively by cab drivers, rumored to have been originally based on English.

Tchort (Rus.) Literally "Devil". A common expletive.

Team A gang.

Teamster A gang member.

Techno Scum A personally very unpleasant, but technically brilliant individual.

Technician A corporate slang term for a professional hit-man.

Tek 1) An item of a highly technical nature. 2) A technician of any kind.

Telecomm A telephone, normally incorporating both video and audio communication. Also comm.

Tenorio (spn) Lit. "a ladykiller."

Thirdman See Fixer.

Thrasher Yet another slang term for one who delves into hard, slamming music.

ThreeVee Also 3-V. Holovision. A 3-dimension projection system which has superceded the television as the primary form of information delivery.

Thriller Of or relating to a thriller gang, its members, or its actions.

Thriller Gang A type of street gang, specializing in random violence and thrill killing (see also go-gang).

Throwback Derogatory term for an exotic.

Thumper A samurai slang term for a grenade, commonly but not always concussional in nature.

Thunderbird LAV. Low altitude vehicle, vector thrust. Military hoovercraft, Panzer (q.v.)

Tiger (Net) A military netrunner.

Tight Interfacing To have sex.

Tin Can A suit of Powered Armor.

Tip a very small amount of money.

Tong (chi) The traditional Chinese equivalent of the Japanese Yakuza.

Tortoise A decker term for someone running in the Matrix with a (slow) terminal.

Towntalk A hybrid street language, not part of any formal group. See also street talk.

Trash Run See Garbage Detail.

Trid Three-dimensional successor to video.

Trode Net A simsense "headband" that allows person without a datajack to "tag along" with a decker. From, elecTRODE NETwork.

Tuning Up The street term for the act of beating a prisoner/captive to elicit a confession.

Twenty-Cent Of or relating to something from the twentieth century. Also 20-Cen.

Twinkie A naive, defenseless, vulnerable, or otherwise useless person.

Twitch A careless, scatterbrained, or otherwise unreliable individual.

Twitchers Taser and, by extension, any electricity-based weapon.



U2C Gang slang for a pedestrian. From the abbreviation for, "Upright, Uptight Citizen."

UMS An abbreviation for "Universal Matrix Standards," the official "default" set of Matrix icons.

UMSC The "Universal Matrix Standards Consortium," ie. those who decided how the Matrix would look.

Underware A slang term for form-fitting body armor.



Valkyrie An assault helicopter or hover vehicle in attack mode. Believed to be derived from a 20-Cen vid, "Apocalypse Now."

Valuta (Rus.) Literally "foreign currency". Refers to any hard currency, either electronic (cards, sticks) or scrip.

Vatjob 1) A person with extensive cyber- or bioware replacement. From the time spent in a nutrient-fluid vat. 2) Organic enhancement by means of vat-grown tissue or muscle.

Very Hip term for "cool" or "in".

Vidflick Flat screen entertainment that predates 3D or holographic projection. Old style TV or movie.

Vidiot A Virtual Reality or video game addict.

VITAS An abbreviation for Virally Inducted Toxic Allergy Syndrome. The 2010+ version of the Bubonic Plague.

VRcade A Virtual Reality, and/or video game arcade or parlor.



WageSlave A low-level or non-ambitious, corporate employee. See Shirt.

Wakarimasu-ka? (jap) Lit. "do you understand?"

Wakatta (jap) Lit. "all right, I understand."

Waldoes A common term for any set of remote-controlled mechanical arms, as used in factories and toxin handeling.

Wavy Cool or smooth.

Wearing color Usually associated with streetgangs, to wear clothing with colors or designs which identify you with a specific gang.

Wetware 1) human augmentation mechanisms based on biochemical methods. E.g. biochemical processors, custom crafted DNA, custom biological tissue, brain implants/grafts, mind/body altering drugs (rare). As opposed to hardware which is based on artificial, physics based methods, e.g. chips. 2) Slang for cyber-augmentation of skills or other mental functions. 3) The human brain (a backhanded reference to normal organic thought processes.) 4) Any original body organ.

Wetwork Assassination. Murder.

Whacked Of or relating to the state of being either "high" or insane.

White IC A passive, defensive, IC program, primarily concerned with tagging & locating a perp's cyberdeck.

Wigly Weird or different. Usually referring to a good drug trip.

Wilson 1) Idiot. 2) Wannabe. Often used as decker insult.

Wire Boy/Girl A decker.

Wired Equipped with cyberware, especially increased reflexes.

Wirehead 1) Someone addicted to computers or electronic communication (e.g. a person who would rather hack then eat or have sex). 2) Someone addicted to electric stimulation directly applied to the pleasure centers of the brain, i.e. simsense abuser.

Wiz 1) Very impressive.

Wizard A slang term meaning, "great," "wonderful," or "excellent."

Wizzer A hip term meaning, "great," "fantastic," "terrific," etc.

Wolver Of or relating to bone spurs.

Word, the The latest gossip or rumors on the street.

Wysiwyg ("Wizzy-wig") Lit. "no nonsense." From the acronym, "What You See Is What You Get."



X-Heads Street samurai slang for cross-cut bullets, eg. dum-dums.



Yak Yakuza. Either a clan member or a clan itself.

Yono (Kor.) A person who is scum or a low life. (From the Korean "Yonomoseki").



Zaibatsu (jap) Lit. "a megacorporation." See also keretsu.

Zero 1) See Blank. 2) To delete or destroy a piece of software. 3) To kill someone. 4) Midnight (From zero-hour.)

Zone See Combat Zones.

Zonies Of or relating to an armed security patrol or any of its members.

