OVERVIEW
Walking into the FGC without the vocabulary feels like landing in a foreign country. Commentators yell “that was PLUS!”, your duo asks you to “meaty their wake-up,” and you just nod. This dictionary fixes that — every term you’ll actually hear in 2XKO lobbies, streams, and coaching sessions.
TJ’s Tip
You don’t need to memorize this page. Skim it once, then come back whenever a stream melts your brain. Vocabulary sticks when it attaches to something you saw.
THE CORE TERMS
The ten you need first:
- Neutral — the phase where neither player has advantage; the “footsies” chess match
- Poke — a safe button thrown out to control space
- Whiff — an attack that misses entirely; whiff punish = hitting them during that miss
- Plus / Minus — frame advantage after a move; plus = your turn, minus = their turn
- BnB — “bread and butter”: your reliable everyday combo
- Mix-up — forcing a guess between two defenses (high/low, left/right, strike/throw)
- Oki / Okizeme — attacking someone as they wake up from knockdown
- Meaty — timing an attack to hit on their first waking frame
- Anti-air — a grounded button that beats jump-ins
- Chip — the sliver of damage dealt through block
TAG-FIGHTER TERMS
2XKO-specific language:
- Point — the character currently on screen; anchor = the one saved for last
- Assist — your partner’s called-in attack
- Handshake Tag — mid-combo character swap that keeps the juggle alive
- DHC-style swap — switching during supers for damage or safety
- Incoming — the vulnerable moment a new character enters after a KO
- Sandwich — trapping the opponent between your point and a returning assist/projectile
FGC CULTURE TERMS
The social dictionary:
- Salt — visible frustration after losing. We’ve all been there.
- Pop-off — celebrating a hype win. Earned, never apologized for.
- Download / Downloaded — fully reading an opponent’s habits mid-set
- Cheese — strong, low-effort tactics. If it’s in the game, it’s legal.
- Lab / Labbing — training mode practice
- Run it back — rematch, right now
- GGs — good games. Say it, mean it.
PUT IT TO USE
Now that you speak the language, the rank-by-rank fundamentals guide will read twice as fast — and when you’re ready to hear these terms applied to YOUR replays, book a session.
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