Winchester jargon

From PersonalWiki

Most of the terms and phrases here are also hunter jargon, but those new to the culture or who have not spent any time with the Winchesters might not be familiar with these. All of the codes are specifically created by Sam and Dean, though it's more than likely John knows most of them.

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• 5-0 (Five-Oh): (code) alert for police presence; likely reference to Hawaii 5-0 tv show.

• 86: (v.) to exorcise [a demon]; as of late, to kill a demon, since it was thought to be impossible until recently

• ace-in-the-hole: (n.) backup, last resort, or hidden weapon; poker jargon

• blind: (n.) a sacrifice necessary if a hunter is to succeed, as in a forced bet; poker jargon

• B&E: (v.) breaking and entering; law enforcement jargon

• break: (v.) an action meant to draw out a supernatural target, e.g. with bait; billiards jargon

• buffy: (n.) female hunter; relatively neutral (as in not negative nor positive) phrase; reference to popular television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• call shot: (n.) a difficult decision a hunter must make, often morally difficult or that might result in death or serious injury of a civilian or him/herself; billiards jargon

• count: (n.) a success, usually involving the destruction of a supernatural creature, dismissing an angry spirit, exorcising a demon, etc.; billiards jargon

• cracker: (n.) a hunter good with computers, a hacker

• "crazy train": (code) get help

• cushion: (n.) a position on the perimeter, or outside a danger zone, to provide either back up to a partner or a last resort if something escapes; billiards jargon

• gadget: (n.) negative term for a typical law enforcement officer who has no awareness of the supernatural and is likely to get in the way; reference to cartoon show Inspector Gadget.

• game: (n.) a con, or confidence game, in use at the time; can also refer to whatever identity a hunter has claimed for the duration of the hunt.

• gig: (n.) a hunt, see also "job"; musician's jargon reference

• glim-dripper: (n.) a variant on a classic con that employs a so-called valuable object as "lost," when a second conman claims to find it and the mark bargains for the object thinking to claim a reward later--hunters use the "reward for lost" story to discover the locations of haunted objects

• grind: (n.) a long hunt, wait, or period without rest

• field: (n.) geographical area a certain supernatural creature is affecting; military jargon

• fish: (n.) a civilian with little to no knowledge of the supernatural, a dangerous liability; poker jargon

• fold: (v.) to give up; poker jargon

• fry: (v.) to destroy by fire, especially a corpse

• "funky town": (code) communicating under duress

• Hilts/McQueen: (code) indicates basic distract/escape maneuver; reference to Steve McQueen character "Hilts" in The Great Escape

• hold: (n.) a solution that doesn't destroy a supernatural, but prevents it from continuing its previous activities (e.g. No Exit) (v.) to employ said solution; billiards jargon

• honeytrap: (n.) bait, usually a person, to draw out the supernatural, sometimes the hunter himself or very rarely knowing or unknowing civilians (e.g. Something Wicked); law-enforcement jargon

• hook: (n.) a con that tricks or forces the unwilling into cooperation, either through blackmail or trickery, also (v.) to hook, or to employ such a con

• Jim Rockford: (n.) Alias used at first motel in the yellow pages if separated. Reference to the title character on the 1970s show The Rockford Files.

• jackpot: (n.) any success, small or large; poker jargon

• jaws: (n.) any supernatural creature with a habitat in water; pop culture reference to the horror movie Jaws

• job: (n.) a hunt, encompassing awareness, travel, research, pursuit, and ultimately destroying whatever-it-is.

• joker: (n.) an idiot.

• kryptonite: (n.) weapon or action that exploits a supernatural creature's weakness. (e.g. brass dagger for a rakshasa, salt and burning an angry spirit's corpse)

• mark: (n.) target of a con, often a prospective source; comes from basic scam vocabulary

• Matlock: (n.) A lawyer. Reference to mystery show Matlock, which features a lawyer as the title character

• "No chick flick moments": (phrase), encompasses how the Winchester family handles emotional connection in general

• "Oprah's on": (code) situation dire, stay away

• piece: (n.) firearm

• "pipe burst": (code) stay away from last known location

• Player: (n.) Someone aware of the supernatural; usually a hunter

• "polling the electorate": (v.) having sex, getting laid, negative connotation

• quack: (n.) medical professional

• quarters: (n.) relatively permanent living space, or one a hunter plans to return to, also (v.) to quarter, or settle in longer than a hunt's typical duration; military jargon

• R&R: (abbrev.) rest and relaxation

• recon: (n.) reconnaissance; military jargon

• river: (n.) unexpected event in the nick of time; as in "the river card"; poker jargon

• rock: (n.) an idiot; marine jargon

• safehouse: (n.) location peopled by hunters, or known to be safe to hunters in particular (i.e. protected, e.g. the Roadhouse)

• salt shot: (n.) rock salt ammunition, typically for shot guns. (v.) a blast from such a weapon

• shark: (n.) an exceptionally skilled person

• shill: (n.) an associate or partner who plays a role that appears to be unaffiliated to the hunter, used in a scam or game to gain the good will of a source; comes from basic scam/con vocabulary

• short: (adj.) nearing an end [of a hunt], (e.g. "This gig is getting short."); military jargon

• slow roll: (n.) a type of con or hunt that must be pursued over a long period of time, or requires excessive patience, which most hunters are short on; poker jargon

• snow: (v.) to fool, to trick; poker jargon

• source: (n.) local person or facility that offers previously unavailable information

• split pair: (n.) a practiced maneuver in which the Winchesters split off into pairs to confuse pursuers, then meet back at where they began, usually assuming they are in company; poker jargon

• spoof: (n.) a false identity, sometimes referring to mode of false identity, such as a falsified ID card; general use, hacker jargon

• spook: (n.) ghost, spirit, usually the kind that needs hunting

• Stepford: (adj.) Suburban normal. Reference to 1975 movie The Stepford Wives

• sting: (n.) an operation or set-up, typically involving a "wait" or stake-out, to catch a supernatural creature in a certain state, or at a certain place or time; law enforcement jargon

• three-card-shuffle: (n.) used here in reference to a hunter's propensity to switch locations to avoid detection, or leave a false trail to an alternate location (a.k.a. three card monte, shell game); scam/con jargon

• throw: (v. as in "to throw") or (n. as in, "the throw") a basic swap, usually of objects or other valuables, using sleight of hand, distraction or thievery; scam/con jargon

• tilt: (n.) another maneuver, TBD

• trojan: (n.) catch-all phrase to describe any method used to get into a building or property, implies desperate methods as opposed to well-thought out ones, see also "B&E"; as in "trojan horse", also hacker jargon

• trunk: (n.) arsenal: what is usually located in a hunter's trunk

• "up the ante": (code) urgent: arm yourself, get a weapon, can also refer to a specific weapon previously discussed

• vic: (n.) victim, usually the most recent; law enforcement jargon

• wait: (n.) span of time before an event is likely to occur, as in a supernatural cycle, or before a pattern repeats itself

• WAG: (n.) abbrev. "wild-assed guess"; a hunter's best guess, usually in identification of spirit or pattern; US marine jargon

• Vulcan Mind Meld: (n.) Telepathic connection. Reference to cult TV show Star Trek

• Zelda Rubenstein: (n.) A psychic. Reference to Kubrik's film The Shining, which features a psychic character by this name