Graffiti Terminology

A number of words and phrases have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti. Like all slang and colloquialisms, the phrases vary in different cities and countries. The following terminology comes primarily from the United States.

All City

The state of being known for one’s graffiti throughout a city (originally throughout the five boroughs of New York, often through the medium of subway cars).

Back To Back

Graffiti that covers a wall from end to end, as seen on some parts of the West-Berlin side of the Berlin Wall. Similarly, trains sometimes receive end to end painting when a carriage has been painted along its entire length. This is often abbreviated as e2e. End to ends used to be called window-downs but this is an older expression that is falling from popularity.

Backjump

A quickly executed throw up or panel piece. Backjumps are usually painted on a temporarily parked train or a running bus.

Black Book

A graffiti artist’s sketchbook. Often used to sketch out and plan potential graffiti, and to collect tags from other writers. It is a writer’s most valuable property, containing all or a majority of the person’s sketches and pieces. A writer’s sketchbook is carefully guarded from the police and other authorities, as it can be used as material evidence in a graffiti vandalism case and link a writer to previous illicit works. Read more