Darts Glossary: Terms and Slang Explained

Last updated 10 November 2026

Darts has a vocabulary all of its own, and much of it is shouted across a pub. Here is what it means.

Bag o' nuts

A score of 45.

Barrel

The weighted metal body of the dart that you grip.

Bed

Any scoring area of a number: the single, double or treble.

Bed and breakfast

A score of 26, usually from single 20, single 5 and single 1. The name is said to come from the old price of a night's B&B: two shillings and sixpence.

Big fish

The highest checkout, 170: treble 20, treble 20, bull.

Bogey number

A score that cannot be finished with three darts. Below 170 they are 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159. See the checkout chart.

Bounce-out

A dart that hits the wire or another dart and falls out. It usually scores nothing.

Bull

The centre of the board. The inner bull scores 50 and counts as a double; the outer bull scores 25.

Bust

Scoring more than you need in 501, leaving 1, or reaching zero without a double. The turn's score is cancelled.

Checkout

Finishing a leg. Also used for the score left when you can finish, e.g. “a 100 checkout”.

Cover shot

Switching to the treble 19 when your treble 20 is blocked by darts already in the board.

Diddle for the middle

Each player throws one dart at the bull, and the closest goes first.

Double in

A rule where your score only starts counting once you hit a double.

Double out

The rule that a leg must be finished on a double or the inner bull.

Double top

Double 20, the double at the top of the board.

Flight

The fins at the back of the dart that keep it stable in the air.

Leg

A single game of 501 (or whatever score is being played). Matches are made of legs and sets.

Lipstick

The treble 20, named after its red colour on most boards.

Madhouse

Double 1, the lowest finish, and famously awkward to hit.

Mugs away

The custom that the loser of the previous leg throws first in the next one.

Nine-darter

Finishing a leg of 501 in nine darts, the minimum possible.

Oche

The throw line. Usually pronounced “ockey”.

Robin Hood

A dart that lands in the back of another dart already in the board.

Set

A group of legs. In set play, you need to win a number of legs to take a set, and a number of sets to win the match.

Shaft (or stem)

The part of the dart between the barrel and the flight.

Shanghai

A single, double and treble of the same number in one turn. Also the name of a game.

Spider

The metal wires that divide the scoring areas of the board.

Three in a bed

All three darts in the same bed, such as three treble 19s.

Ton

A score of 100 or more in one turn. “Ton-40” is 140, and so on.

Ton-80

A score of 180, the maximum with three darts.

Treble

The inner narrow ring, scoring three times the number. Called a triple in some countries.

White horse

Three different trebles in one turn, especially trebles not usually aimed at.

Wire

Hitting the wire of the board, which often causes a bounce-out or deflects a dart into a neighbouring bed.

Want to see the terms in action? Start with the beginner's guide to darts.