A Dictionary of TV Writers Room Jargon

An ever-expanding list of TV writer slang terms I've heard in the room(s)

Every job has jargon. And if you work in film & TV you are already familiar with just how much industry specific slang people throw around. Some of it’s helpful to have a term for, and a pretty big portion of it is just a way to show you’ve been around the block a few times and know all the slang.

With that in mind, I wanted to compile for you a list of all of the writers’ room slang terms I’ve heard.

This way you will have a handy-dandy cheat sheet you can use to look things up so you don’t have to stop everybody in their tracks to ask them to explain what the heck they’re talking about.

[A caveat: Every room has different slang, and I bet NY rooms have different made up phrases that LA rooms don’t have. If you have heard a DIFFERENT meaning for any of these, and/or have other terms you’ve heard that you’d either like to get the definitions of, or define for the rest of us, drop ‘em in the comments. Please!]

Every term you could ever need to know in a writers’ room, so that you don’t have to stop everyone to ask “what did that mean?”

Alt (noun)
Abbreviation for “alternative.” An alternative joke or punchline or story pitch.

Ex: Can we get some alts for this line?

A Room & B Room (noun)

Rooms will sometimes split into two working groups in order to divide and conquer. Sometimes one room will be working on one episode and another room on another. Sometimes a B Room will be focusing on a specific issue, whether that’s character or world building or a future episode. Some shows (I am not naming names) have had such extreme creative differences that they permanently split into an A Room and a B Room and write episodes entirely separately.

Ex: Why don’t you three head to the conference room and as a B Room start to figure out the next episode while we work in here on the current one?

Artifact (noun)

Something that has remained in a draft or outline but was more relevant in a previous version, and may no longer be applicable.

Ex: Do we still need that scene where they go to the ice cream shop, or is that an artifact?

A Story, B Story, C Story (noun)

The first, second, and third plot lines of an episode. The A story describes the main story line of the episode, B would take up the second most real estate, and C would be third.

Ex: I think the A Story would be the detective’s, since we really want to see her finally puzzle it all together this episode.

Audience Privilege (noun)

A piece of information the audience has that the characters do not necessarily have.

Ex: We’ll cut to the bomb under the table to help build the tension, but that information will be audience privilege.

Beat(s) (noun)

The different moment(s) that comprise an episode.

Ex: What is the next beat in her story this episode?

Beat Out (verb)

To figure out the beats of a story or episode.

Ex: Why don’t you spend the afternoon trying to beat out her story for the episode?

Blue Sky (verb / noun)

Brainstorming or pitching ideas and concepts that don’t necessarily fit with or depend on anything else. At the beginning of a room you will often “blue sky” and then over time you will begin to refine the story and narrow the focus of pitches and conversation.

Ex: For this first week of the room we just want to blue sky the story for the season. Anything is fair game. Next week we’ll start to narrow things down.

Break (verb / noun)

To methodically plan out the events that will happen in an episode or season. As a noun, refers to the actual plan/outline for the events of the episode or season.

Ex: Now that the first episode is off to script, do you all feel ready to break the second episode?

Bump (verb)

When something doesn’t feel right or bothers you. When something feels off it “bumps” you. This could be a line, a character choice, or a piece of action.

Ex: Her doing that really bumps me. I don’t believe she’d do that after what happened between them in the previous episode.

Business (noun)

Action or blocking given to a character in a scene so that they have more to do than just talk.

Ex: Can we give those characters some business in the background so they don’t seem like they’re just waiting for him to walk in?

Buy (verb)

To believe.

Ex: Will we buy him being an expert in Ancient Sumerian?

Cards Up / Cards Down (adj.)

Whether something is known to the audience or not. Cards up means the audience has seen what the character’s intentions are. Cards down means the audience has not seen the character’s intentions yet.

Ex: Should we have this beat play out cards up, where we know she’s planning to steal the painting, or is it better if it’s card down and we only learn after she already has stolen the painting?

Chuffa (noun)

Filler dialogue, particularly at the beginning of a scene.

Ex: I don’t know, when they walk into the courtroom there’s probably some lawyer chuffa before she storms in shouting.

Clock (verb)¹

To notice something.

Ex: He clocks that she left the note behind.

Direct Pickup

When the events of the current episode take place immediately after the events of the previous episode.

Ex: This episode will be a direct pickup, right after the robbery, how do they then escape?

Gak (noun)

Refers to the nondescript props or set dressing that are placed in the background of a set to make it look more realistic. This can also be digital effects on screens, technical nonsense in a line, or any other thing that functions primarily as something that grounds the world.

Ex: Can we give them a bunch of medical gak to say as they’re operating? And props, we need a bunch of medical gak in the background.

Hang a Lantern (also sometimes “Shine a Light On…”) (verb)

Acknowledging something problematic or nonsensical about a moment with a script. By hanging a lantern, or calling attention to the issue, you can sometimes clue the audience in on the fact that “we the writers know this is unlikely but go with us.”

Ex: Him agreeing to that crazy decision might work if we just hang a lantern on it, he knows it’s crazy.

Hat on a Hat (noun)

Overkill. One too many complications or redundancies, whether a joke that steps on another joke, or a dramatic beat that repeats another.

Ex: Do we need both those moments? Or is it a hat on a hat?

House Number (noun)

A placeholder. Something you’re putting up but will later replace. [I have only ever heard it used this way, BUT, I have heard from other writers that they’ve heard it used more to mean something along the lines of “the thing that a character usually does,” as in a band’s house number that they always play. Which have you heard used?]

Ex: Let’s just say that’s what they’re doing for now, as a house number.

Pipe (noun)

Usually it’s referred to as pipe that needs to be laid. Or a need to lay pipe. ie the dramatic underpinnings of the story that need to be explained.

Ex: We’re going to need to lay a lot of pipe to make that scene make any sense.

Refrigerator Logic (noun)

A moment that seems fine during an episode, but later, while getting a snack from the fridge, the audience realizes it didn’t make any logical sense.

Ex: Does that really work or is it sort of refrigerator logic?

Schmuck Bait (noun)

A fake out or story point that doesn’t really end up meaning anything later on.

Ex: If we end on the character about to die but then discover at the beginning of the next scene that he’s okay, isn’t that sort of schmuck bait?

Shoe Leather (noun)

Blocking, physical action, or exposition that slows down the scene or episode. If something requires a lot of shoe leather, it is either difficult to explain or difficult to dramatize without taking a lot of time.

Ex: I have a feeling that that’s really going to slow things down and require a lot of shoe leather.

Step out (verb)

To expand upon, to build into more of a moment or multiple moments.

Ex: Let’s try to step out the heist into a few more beats.

Sweaty (adj.)

Something that feels either forced, or simply tired and over-done.

Ex: Is that joke funny or is it a little bit sweaty?

Ticking Clock (noun)

A concrete deadline that creates mounting tension.

Ex: We need a ticking clock for the episode. Could the kidnappers demand the ransom by midnight that night?

Tiny Town (adj.)

The feeling that the world of the show is too small, or things are happening that feel too convenient / forced. Usually comes up when a character that wouldn’t ordinarily be involved in something is somehow shoehorned into the story.

Ex: Can we have Darren in the court room for that scene or does it feel a little bit too tiny town?

Vomit Draft (noun)

The messy, unpolished first draft of a script where the writer gets all their ideas out without worrying about quality

Ex: I need to just get a vomit draft done over the weekend so I can spend the next week out fixing it up.

(Long) Walk (noun)

Something that is a little bit complicated to explain or make believable, something that stretches credulity.

Ex: It’s a bit of a long walk, but maybe we can say that the doctor character loved history and that’s why he now wants to run for Congress?

Weave (verb & noun)

The act of taking the various beats and scenes that will take place in the different story lines of the episode, and stitching them together into the correct order.

Ex: Let’s take his story line, which is the A story, and weave that and the B and C stories together to see how the episode plays. Oh, we already did the weave, it’s on the board.

1. Not a “Ticking Clock,” which is entirely different thing, see above.