25
votes
Accepted
Why is LEGO usually uppercase?
No, it's not an acronym.
The name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well".
All-caps is how the LEGO company asks to have their brand treated.
Using ...
- 13.3k
21
votes
Accepted
What is a Planetary Decoder? What does it decode? How does it work?
According to various lego catalogs of 1996 (the set's release year), it's referring to the main play feature of the set :
The two transparent red and blue dishes at the front of the craft can be used ...
- 2,597
20
votes
How to describe a building set which is like LEGO without using the "LEGO" word?
The usual phrases I've seen include some mixture of the following:
Universal interlocking bricks
Modular building system
Plastic construction toy blocks
and so on...
But don't forget adding "...
- 15.4k
18
votes
What is the Travis Brick?
The Travis Brick is the 1×1 brick with studs on four sides.
The nickname arose amongst LEGO Space builders. It was nicknamed The Travis after talented Space builder Travis Kunce. He liked the part so ...
- 9,121
15
votes
Accepted
What is a novelty element?
This was a new term for me. It was clarified on the LEGO Ambassador Network by a member of the LEGO Community Team:
We have a lot of internal words that are not always known to the public. TLG ...
- 39.4k
13
votes
Accepted
What is the "Module" of a LEGO gear?
Quick answer: LEGO gear module is 1 (metric).
See Section 3.4 at this link: http://bdml.stanford.edu/Main/CrawlerNotes
The consensus seems to be the following:
Lego gears have a metric module of 1, ...
12
votes
Why is LEGO usually uppercase?
Alexander O'Mara's answer is correct, however I'd like to add the reasoning behind LEGO's desire to impose such strict rules on their name's usage.
According to the copyright laws generic terms can't ...
10
votes
Accepted
Does the word Lego have anything to do with Latin verb lego?
The official story is that Ole Kirk Kristiansen didn't realise until years after naming the company what it meant in Latin (normally it's said to mean "I put together", not "I collect"), and as there ...
10
votes
What is a "MOD" and how does it differ from a "MOC"?
It's MODification, "My Own Design" is silly.
Also used quite extensively outside of the LEGO community, e.g. in gaming a MOD is altered game code you execute, either to cheat or to change ...
- 10.8k
9
votes
Who can use "LEGO Official Store" for an online LEGO store?
LEGO has some arrangements in Asia (I think currently it's only in Asia, but I don't think anyone has said it can't be done elsewhere), where third parties get a permission/license to call stores ...
8
votes
Accepted
What does the acronym SPUA stand for?
SPUA - Special Part Used Again, a part which is seemingly only for a particular set or theme, but is used again
List of LEGO Abbreviations from Brickipeda
- 12.3k
8
votes
Accepted
What is LEGO terminology for measurement of normal bricks and common scales?
Terminology
This is the most basic terminology in a single image:
A bit more verbose version is found in this slideshow, but there are a few factual errors, highlighted in the comments below.
The ...
- 15.4k
8
votes
Accepted
What is Rebuild The World?
It's "a campaign to help nurture the creative skills of the next generation", launched by LEGO on September 17, 2019.
From the LEGO website:
Today, the LEGO Group and musician Mark Ronson ...
- 21.1k
8
votes
How to describe a building set which is like LEGO without using the "LEGO" word?
The answer can be closer than you think. Quoting from the Bricks help page:
Bricks is a question and answer site for LEGO and building block enthusiasts.
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6
votes
Where did "Cheese Slope" get its name?
According to BrickLink, the cheese slope, part number 54200, first appeared in a handful of sets in 2004.
In the mid-1990s, the AFOL community hung out on the Usenet newsgroup rec.toys.lego and its ...
- 669
6
votes
Is there an official LEGO terminology for the features of basic pieces?
Yes, here is the basic terminology Lego bricks names list.
6
votes
Accepted
What is the name of the small pins that are used with small wheels / rims?
LEGO and others sometimes calls those pieces a "bearing element". This term however is not limited to just that axle.
LEGO's replacement parts service calls the holes they go into "HOLE Ø11" (...
- 13.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Who can use "LEGO Official Store" for an online LEGO store?
As far as I am aware there are 3 types of LEGO stores:
Owned and operated by TLG.
Licenced by TLG to 3rd party to operate under LEGO brand. In this group (most likely) your official region ...
- 22k
5
votes
How to describe a building set which is like LEGO without using the "LEGO" word?
...actually it’s a highly sophisticated interlocking brick system
source Lego Movie Quotes on WIkipedia
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5
votes
Accepted
Is "modular" just a theme, or is it bigger?
Generally speaking "Modular(s)" refers to sets in the Creator Expert theme that are designed with common proportions and common attachment points to allow them to be strung together neatly. ...
- 172
5
votes
Is "modular" just a theme, or is it bigger?
"Modularity" is an attribute, that like for example "flexibility" can be applied on different scales. A water droplet is considered flexible, but a larger volume of water is ...
- 15.4k
4
votes
Is "modular" just a theme, or is it bigger?
To add to the answer given by Alex when building a MOC some people also make their creation modular to make it transportable and/or to make it flexible in usage. For landscaping there are some ...
- 717
4
votes
Is "modular" just a theme, or is it bigger?
I would say term "modular system" is the basic idea behind the LEGO itself. It is the reason there is so much variety in the ways you can attach parts to make your won creations.
"...
- 22k
4
votes
How to describe a building set which is like LEGO without using the "LEGO" word?
I have seen the sentence "Compatible." in product descriptions. When you are selling interlocking plastic toys, you can assume that everyone knows what this means.
- 2,605
4
votes
Accepted
Is there a named scale for sets such as 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer or 75054 AT-AT
As far as I can find, there are very few official "scale" terms used in LEGO. The term "Minifig-scale" is a fan term and is fairly loose, as the scale of the figs themselves don't really equate to ...
- 168
3
votes
How are LEGO bricks categorized?
Our categories are:
brick
shaped
mechanical
people
people tools
finish
Then L, M, S within each of these. Brick is any rectangular prism, flat or otherwise. Mechanical are any that can spin or move ...
- 39
3
votes
What is LEGO terminology for measurement of normal bricks and common scales?
From the book Crazy Action Contraptions page 47 has a nice graphic showing the relation between the sizes of different pieces.
I'd add that it is more common to call a "sideways brick" a stud. All ...
- 1,357
2
votes
Is "modular" just a theme, or is it bigger?
We are not limited to the modular buildings from LEGO. You can design your own based on documented standards for modular buildings. And the community has designed many modular buildings that you can ...
- 5,235
2
votes
How to describe a building set which is like LEGO without using the "LEGO" word?
Have a look at this items (first and second) and their descriptions: clip-on blocks and Building Block respectivly.
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2
votes
Does the word Lego have anything to do with Latin verb lego?
Interestingly, "Lego" is the Greek word for "lay" or "put forth" ...from the verb "to speak." "Leg" is a Proto Indo European root word which shows up in many other words --most of which are cousins to ...
- 21
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