Cube Glossary (Outdated)

From 2003-2006, with 349 entries. Today, I support the SpeedSolving wiki, where I am a regular contributor.

I believe this to be (as of 2006) the longest list of cube-related terms in English (the longest in any language is probably on Ishino's site). A lot of the definitions are not complete yet. I'd appreciate any help with collecting cube terms and definitions.
(to find out more about items categorized [puzzle], please visit TwistyPuzzles.com). Thanks to everyone who contributed to this glossary.

0: [blindfoldcubing]
1. Notation in Blindfold Cubing which means that a corner is oriented correctly.
2. Notation in Blindfold Cubing which means that an edge is oriented correctly.
1: [blindfoldcubing]
1. Notation in Blindfold Cubing which means that a corner needs to be twisted clockwise.
2. Notation in Blindfold Cubing which means that an edge is oriented incorrectly.
2: [blindfoldcubing]
1. Notation in Blindfold Cubing which means that a corner needs to be twisted counter-clockwise.
2. Suffix meaning that the face/slice preceding it should be turned halfway of a whole turn.
2-look Last Layer: Solving the last layer in two steps. OLL then PLL and CLL then ELL are the most commonly used such approaches.
2-Second Penalty: A penalty of 2 seconds given when a cube is put down with 1 layer past the first penalty line, but not past the second line. The line is where the slit between the FU edge and the FRU corner goes past that of FU and FLU, and was implemented by Tyson Mao, a board member of WCA, who wrote the official WCA rules.
3-Cycle: 1. A permutation involving 3 pieces.
2. To cycle (permute in a cyclic manner) 3 pieces.
3-look Last Layer: Solving the last layer in 3 steps. Usually refers to the intermediate method to Fridrich, in which orientation is done in two steps (corner edge or edge corner) and permutation is done in one step.
4-look Last Layer: A primitive last layer approach and the first step to learning Fridrich. Usually edge orientation, corner orientation, corner permutation, edge permutation, in that order.
6 edges 4 centers: The finishing step for many traditional corners first methods and also Gilles Roux's method. Can be approached in numerous ways.
15: Suffix for JSCC whole cube turn notation, meaning a tilt of 15 degrees. Used as in (r15). There is also 30 and 45.
': Suffix meaning that the face/slice preceding it should be turned counter-clockwise, or opposite of the way it is usually turned.
#: Mathematical notation used to indicate the number of elements in a set. Used to show the calculation to determine if there is a corner-edge parity on the cube.
+: Notation indicating that the corner on which it is written on needs to be twisted clockwise.
-: Notation indicating that the corner on which it is written on needs to be twisted counter-clockwise.

a: [suffix]
move suffix indicating oppsite face to be turned in the same direction (clockwise - anticlockwise). visually the opposite direciton.
Adjust U-face: Moves that need to be applied to put a pattern in a certain direction before performing an algorithm.
Air Jeff: Double turns separated by moves done by the free hand, in which the direction of double turns are alternated and performed without regripping. A FSC suggested by Jeff Black. Used in RU2R2'U'R2U'R2'U2R.
Alexander Star: [puzzle]
Puzzle in shape of a great dodecahedron. All 5 plates that make up each pentagonal surface have the same color when solved. Corresponds to the edges of Megaminx.
Algorithm: Any fixed sequence of movements. Often denoted using a common notation, as in RUR'URU2'R'. e.g. OLL algorithms, PLL algorithms.
Allan (TM): Lars Petrus' algorithm to permute three last layer edges without any other effect on the cube. The main algorithm for Step 7 of Petrus Method.
Antislice: Turning two opposite sides in the opposite direction (same rotation, clockwise or counter-clockwise).
Arch: Arch seen on the inside of center pieces on Rubik's Deluxe and new Oddzon cubes, creating a full circle with the edge pieces. Prevents POP. Cubes with archs are said to be arched.
Arxon: Another term for Ideal. These cubes from the 1980s had both BOY and RBG (BYO) color schemes, plus adjusting screws. (David Salvia)
AUF: (abbrev.) Adjust U-face
Average: Average time of middle 10 (discarding the fastest and the slowest) out of 12 consecutive attempts
Axle: The center piece of a Rubik's Cube that holds all the pieces together. Connected to all 6 center pieces by a wire through a transparent plastic. The center part can either be transparent/dark plastic, or softer material.

B: [move]
turn the Back-face 90degrees clockwise
B-face
Bandaged Cube: [puzzle]
Rubik's Cube with several adjacent pieces held together, which restricts the possible turns that can be made on it.
Can be ordered at Meffert's Puzzle
Bandaged Pyraminx: [puzzle]
BCFSSS: (abbrev.)Blindfold Cubing For Seriously Sad Savants - a collection of optimal algorithms to orient corners, permute corners, orient edges, and permute edges. A work in progress by Richard Carr.
BCFTSS: Blinfold Cubing For The Seriously Sad - an intermdediate step to BCFSSS. Completed work by Richard Carr.
Bert (TM): Lars Petrus' algorithm to double transpose adjacent last layer edges without any other effect on the cube. Use in Step 7 of Petrus Method. Corresponds to Z-permutation.
Big(ger) Cubes: Refers to 4x4x4, 5x5x5, etc.
Blank Cube: The cube itself without the stickers
BLD: = Blindfold Cubing
Blindfold Cubing: Also called "blindfoldcubing," "blindfold solving," etc. To solve a Rubik's Cube without looking afer a period of inspection. 1-look solve. Blindfold cubing is 1-look solving, not 0-look solving.
Blindfold Team Solving: = Team Blindfold Solving
Block Approach: Intuitive approach for solving, where parts of a puzzle is solved by creating various blocks of pieces. Most block approaches were created for speedcubing, and generally takes less number of algorithms and less moves per solve than other methods. Some examples are Petrus Method, Gilles Roux's Method, and Ryan Heise's Method.
Bottom Layer: 1. = LL
2. Literally, the bottom layer. B.
BOY Color Scheme: American/Official Color Scheme. Has Blue, Orange, and Yellow on one corner clockwise.
Butterfly Finish: Stopping the timer with the back of one's hands. WCA has warned that this technique can lead to disqualification of the attempt if the cube rests on the hands.
BYO: Another name for Japanese color scheme. Used on Rubik's Deluxe and some variations of 2x2x2.

Cage Method: Per Kristen Fredlund's method for 4x4x4. See Message #15608
Caltech Cube Club: Cube club based in California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. President Tyson Mao is a board member of WCA. The club has been responsible for most of the competitions in the US since 2004.
Case Cube: Elongated Fisher Cube. Invented by Tony Fisher.
CCC: = Caltech Cube Club
Center Ball: 1. Three-grooved sphere that can be found inside a Rubik's Revenge. Holds the center pieces in place.
2. The ball found inside Pyraminx.
Center First Method: Method for solving bigger cubes in which the center pieces are solved first. Chris Hardwick's solution.
Center Piece: The piece of the Rubik's Cube located in the middle of each face. In Rubik's Deluxe and new Oddzon cubes, the center pieces are arched on the inside. Odd-number sized cubes have unchanging centers.
Center Sphere: = Center Ball
CF: (abbrev.) 1. Corner First
2. Center First
CFOP: (abbrev.)Cross->F2L->OLL->PLL
= Fridrich Method
CLL: Corners of Last Layer. Set of algorithms to orient and permute the last layer corners in one step. First of the two LL steps of Guus Schultz Method.
Color scheme modifiers: Algorithms used to reduce the number of stickers that needed to be switched to change a color scheme of a puzzle.
COLL: Set of algorithms to orient the permute the last layer corners in one step without disturbing the edge orientation.
Commutators: Algorithms of the form XYX'Y'. Link: Ryan Heise's Method Step 3, Jaap's Puzzle Page Theory
Computer Cube: Cube applets on computer.
Conjugate: Algorithms of the form XYX'. Link: Ryan Heise's Method Step 3, Jaap's Puzzle Page Theory
Conjugate Notation: Bracket notation used to concisely write down conjugates. For example, [P,Q]=PQP'Q'. [S,A,B]= S(ABA'B')S'.
Container: [puzzle]
Skewb variation. Invented by Tony Fisher.
Corner-Edge Parity: [blindfoldcubing]
Whether a double transposition of corners and edges is needed on a blindfolded solve. If there is, it is resolved in the beginning with a single face turn or during or at the end of the solve with a PLL. All cube states either have or do not have this. Any single face turn will change the parity.
Corner First: A method of solving the cube in which the corners are solved first, and then the edges. Marc Waterman's speedcubing method belongs to this category.
Corner Piece: The pieces of the cube that are the corners of the whole cube.
8 corner pieces in a Rubik's Cube. A corner piece has three orientation.
Corners of Last Layer
Cross: The orientation and permutation of edges of the first layer. First step in most LBL methods, including Fridrich Method. Can be solved in at most 8 moves, and almost always in 7 moves or less. Most speedcubers prefer to put the cross on bottom or on left during F2L.
Cube: Rubik's Cube
Cube-21: [puzzle]
= Square-1's name in Czech Republic
Cube Art: Art of arranging Rubik's Cube into 3-D patterns. Practiced by Hana Bizek, who has written a book on the subject.
Cube Fool: A cube addict.
Cube Group: The group generated by U, D, R, L, F, B. All legal positions of the cube.
Cube Lube: Liquid silicone-based lubricant sold on www.rubiks.com
Cubie: Individual pieces of a puzzle.
Cuboctahedron: [puzzle]
Rubik's Cube with 8 corners cut up to the midpoint of each edge.
Cuboid: Rubik's type puzzles in shape of rectangular prism (but not cubes). For a puzzle to be considered a cuboid, it must be fully-functional, meaning that all slice can be turned. Extended puzzles such as extended 3x3x5 are not considered cuboids.
Cuboid Transformation: Method for transforming regular cubes into cuboids. Tony Fisher's cuboid transformation.
Cycle: [blindfoldcubing]
A method of memorizign the permutation of pieces in a cycle.
Explained on Olly's Cube Page.

D
Dallas Disaster: Dubbed in an IM conversation by Tyson Mao, this refers to his failing of all three blindfold solves at Caltech Dallas Summer competition 2005. The first of these was a 2:13 with two incorrectly flipped edges. He went on to set a new world record of 1:58, first ever official solve under 2 minutes, at Northern California Fall Open 2005 on September 17, successfully solving all three attempts.
David Singmaster: Mathematician from United Kingdom who first popularized Rubik's Cube through discovery of the mathematics involved in it.
Darth Maul: [puzzle]
DCC: (abbrev.) Dutch (Netherlands) Cubist Club. Includes Ton Dennenbroek, Peter Jansen, Jaap Scherphuis, Koen Heltzel, Ruben Geels, Jo�E van Noort, Stefan Bayens and Ron van Bruchem.
DCD: (abbrev.) Dutch Cube Day
D-Cross: [speedcubing]
To solve the cross with the side on the bottom.
Requires more seeing ahead to be done, but results in less loss time from Cross to F2L.
Deep Cube: Cubing robot invented by Evan Gates. With a best average of 11.46 seconds, the fastest cubing robot in the world.
Devil's Algorithm: An algorithm that takes a puzzle through all possible configurations.
D-face
Diamond Dodecahedron: [puzzle]
Dino Cube: [puzzle]
A cube-shaped puzzle with cuts along the diagonals.
DNF: Did Not Finish. Includes pops and timer defects.
DNS: Did Not Solve
Dogic: [puzzle]
Double Extended Cross: Completing 2 slots of the F2L in addition to the normal cross as the first step. See Extended Cross.
Double Layer Turn: A kind of turn in which 2 layers are turned as one in one direction. indicated by lower-case letter of the face or by adding a "w" after the face name (used mainly by JSCC).
DQ
Double Parity: A situation in which both the orientation parity and the permutation parity errors occur on a 4x4x4. Algorithms to fix double parity in one have been found by Stafan Pochmann and Per Kristen Fredlund.
Double Transposition: Swapping 2 and 2 pieces.
Dutch Cube Day: Annual official speedcubing competition held since 2003. Held in early October in The Netherlands. Links: www.speedcubing.com - DCD 2002, www.speedcubing.com - DCD 2003

E: Equator. The slice between U and D. "E" as a notation refers to the turning of the E slice in direction of D.
Eastsheen: A company in Taiwan. Manufacturer of Eastsheen 2x2x2, 4x4x4, and 5x5x5, which all have different mechanisms from corresponding Rubik's puzzles. Eastsheen 2x2x2 is known to be much smoother than Rubik's mini cube. There is still a dispute over the legality of these puzzles in competitions.
EC2004: Euro Championship 2004
Edge Control: = LL Edge Control
Edge Piece: The piece of Rubik's Cube that is between two corner pieces.
resembles the sides of the Rubik's Cube.
edge piece has two orientations.
There are 12 edges on a Rubik's Cube.
ELL: (abbrev.) Edges of Last Layer
Edges of Last Layer: The last step in Guus Schultz's LBL Method. Corrects the orientation and the permutation of LL edges in 1 algorithm. Masayuki Akimoto independently found algorithms for this step in his corners first method he devised in the early 80s.
Ern&otrema; Rubik: Inventor of Rubik's Cube. Hungarian professor of architecture.
Also see Terutoshi Ishige
Euro Championship 2004: Official competition organized by Ron van Bruchem, held on August 7, 8 at Nemo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Extended Cross: Also called XCross. Completing the first slot of F2L in addition to the normal cross. An approach invented by Chris Hardwick. Can be extended to Double Extended Cross

F
Face: 1. A side of a puzzle.
2. A side of a solid color. Not neccessarily a layer.
Face Turn
Fewest Move Contest: Weekly contest founded by Dan Harris.
F-face
Finger Short Cut: [speedcubing]
A combination of moves which can be excuted extremely fast (5-10 moves per second) by turning using the tip of the finger.
First 2 Layers: [speedcubing]
The part of the cube solve right after the cross in Fridrich Method.
consists of 4 slots between each adjacent pair of cross edge piece
Fisher's Cube: [puzzle]
Cube-shaped puzzle with the turning lines turned 45 degrees. Invented by Tony Fisher.
Fisher's Golden Cube
Flat-centered: Non-arched-centered. Ant: arched
Flip: 1. Orientation of an edge.
2. To change the orientation of an edge.
FMC: = Fewest Move Contest
4C3E: = 4 corners and 3 edges. First step in CF methods such as Waterman Method.
Franken Tower: A fully-functional 2x2x3 made using Tony Fisher's Cuboid Transformation with a normal 3x3x3 as a base and two super 2x2x2's for outer coverings.
Fridrich Method: A very fast two step LL LBL method which allows one to solve the cube in as fast as 15 seconds on avg. The most popular speedcubing method. Also called CFOP
FSC: [speedcubing]
(abbrev.) Finger Short Cut
F2L: [speedcubing]
(abbrev.) First 2 Layers

Gaetan Guimond's Corner Method: An extremely fast orientation-first method for the corners.
Gilles Roux's method: A block-based approach finishing with 6 edges and 4 centers for solving the cube. Invented by French cuber Gilles Roux in 2003, this is the only non-LBL method that has been proven so far to be capable of sub-16 averages.
Gliding Cube
God's Algorithm: Shortest algorithm to perform a certain task on the cube ie. solve the cube.
Gosbee Method: Advanced CF method developed from Waterman Method by Dan Gosbee.
Group: 1. The set of positions reachable from a solved cube using only certain moves. e.g.UDR2L2F2B2 Group
2. Those moves.
(In mathematics, Rubik's Cube is often used as an example of a finite, noncummutative group.) Rubik's Cube forms what is known as the Cube Group.
Group Theory: A branch of mathematics deeply connected to puzzles such as the cube.
Guus Schultz Method: A LBL method in which the last layer is solved by first fixing the corners (CLL) and then fixing the edges (ELL). Roux Guus Schultz placed second at 1982 World Championship in Budapest, Hungary, where he competed for the Netherlands.

Half Turn: 180 degree turn.
Half Turn Metric: System of counting where half turns as well as quarter turns are counted as 1 move, and slice moves are counted as 2 moves.
Harris-notation (Harris-ENG): Most commonly used notation for Rubik's Cube. Basic notation plus M, S, E for slices and x, y, z for cube turns. M,E, and S were added by a German, Christoph Bandelow.
Hasbro: Distributer of Rubik's Cube and other Rubik's puzzles in the United States.
Helmstetter's LL algorithms: 1211 algorithms to solve any LL pattern in one step. Created by Bernard Helmstetter.
HTM: (abbrev.)Half Turn Metric
Hungarian Rings: [puzzle]

i: Suffix in notation. Same as '. Inverse.
Ideal Toy Corporation: Rubik's Cube company from the 80s.
Identity: A sequence (often nontrivial) that has no effect on the cube group. Can be applied to other groups such as the supercube group.
Inspection Time: 1)A period of time given before each solve to a cuber to inspect the cube; usually 15 seconds.
2)A period of time in which blindfold cubers memorize the cube prior to star solving the cube blindfolded.
Inverse: The reverse of an algorithm.
related: mirror

Japanese Sunday Contest: Weekly speedcubing contest of JSCC. Established by Mr. Kondo
= Japanese Speedcubing Sunday Contest=JSSC
Japan Speed Cubing Club: [club]
Japanese Club of speedcubing. Currently 50+ members. Forum
JASC: Just Another Stupid Challenge. Phrase coined by Jessica Fridrich, the inventor of Fridrich Method. See Message #4571 in the international speedcubing forum.
JRCA: Japanese Rubik's Cube Association. Formed in the summer of 2005 by Masayuki Akimoto as the president. JRCA website
JSCC: [club]
(abbrev.) Japan Speed Cubing Club

K8 Ball: [puzzle]

L
L2L approach: A method of solving parts of the last layer along with each slot of the F2L. Invented by Duncan Dick.
Last Layer: The layer that is solved last in a LBL method. Requires a large number of algorithms to be memorized to produce a fast solution. There are 1212 patterns including the solved state (not including mirrors/inverses).
Lattice Cube: [puzzle]
Bigger version of the Dino Cube.
Layer: 1. A portion of a puzzle that turns together.
2. A solid side and facelets adjacent to that side.
Layer by Layer: A method of solving a Rubik's Cube, in which the cube will be solved in order of first layer, second layer, and third layer.
Jessica's Fridrich's Method is considered to be a LBL method although it uses the concept of F2L.; Layer by Layer Method; One of the two major classes of methods for solving a Rubik's Cube. Method of solving a Rubik's Cube most popularly used among speedcubers.
Fridrich's method falls under this category.
LBL: (abbrev.)Layer by Layer
Leaflet Dodecahedron: [puzzle]
L-face
Length: 1)Length of an algorithm. Measured by face turns or quarter turns.
2)Number of Pieces involved in a cycle.
LL: (abbrev.) Last layer
LL Edge Control: set of algorithms to correct the orientation of LL edges while inserting the last F2L slot/edge/corner.
Look: 1 "look" at a puzzle. For example, using normal Fridrich method, a cube can be solved in 7 looks.
Lubricant
Lucky Case: A solve in which 1 or more stages of the usual solving were skipped.

M: Middle. The slice between R and L. "M" as a notation refers to the turning of the M slice in direction of L.
Master Cube: [puzzle]
Rubik's Revenge with a different mechanism inside.
Master Magic: [puzzle]
2x6 version of Rubik's Magic
Mastermorphix: [puzzle]
Higher-order Pyramorphix
Master Octagon: [puzzle]
4x4x4 version of Octagon Cube.
Mean: Raw average. Average without discarding the fastest and the slowest time. Usually used in 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 in competitions.
Median
: The contest format used by the Swedish Cube Association for 3x3x3 speedsolve.
Mefferts
MegaMinx: [puzzle]
Puzzle in shape of a dodecahedron. Each side has 5 corners and 5 edges around a pentagonal center piece.
Mental Block: [puzzle]
Puzzle invented by Tony Fisher. Can be transformed into a wide variety of shapes.
Metric: System for counting the number of turns. e.g.QTM
Mirror: Mirrored version of an algorithm/pattern
related: inverse
Missing Link: [puzzle]
Move: One turn applied on Rubik's Cube;U,D,F,B,R,L,M,S,E + suffixes
= twist, turn
Multislotting: The technique of controlling the next corner-edge pair while inserting one. First examined by Sebastién Felix.

Niklas (TM): Lars Petrus' algorithm to permute last layer corners without orienting the last layer edges. The main algorithm for Step 5 of Petrus Method.
Non-matching Pair: Technique used in F2L where a corner and an edge that are usually not considered a corresponding pair is treated as one, and inserted into their correct spots after turning the cross-face.
Notation: Letters and marks used to represent moves on puzzles. Some regularly used notation: U, D, F, B, R, L, M, S, E, a, s, w, t, i.
Numpad Notation: A simple way of labeling the last layer cubies using the corresponding numbers in on a numerical pad of a standard keyboard. First used by DDRKirby(ISQ).

Octagon Cube: [puzzle]
Rubik's Cube with 4 sides (corner-edge-corner) cut off. In shape of a octagonal prism.
Octaminx: [puzzle]
Invented by Tony Fisher. Made by cutting a Pyraminx into shape of an octahedron.
Oddzon: 1. Company producing Rubik's Cubes.
2. Cubes from Oddzon.
Official Color Scheme: American Color Sheme. BOY Color Scheme.
"Official Rules": official rules for posting averages to UWR
OLL: (abbrev.) Orientation of last Layer
Opposite Face: Face opposide another face. U-D, F-B, and R-L.
Orbix: [puzzle]
Order: The minimum number of times that an algorithm must be applied to put the puzzle back to its starting point. Maximum order for the Rubik's Cube is known to be 1260.
Orientation: The flip of a piece on a Rubik's Cube.
3 flips on corner piece (0,1, and 2), and 2 flips on edge piece (0 and 1)
Orientation Parity: 2-edge swap on a Revenge.

Palbox: A Japanese company that sells Rubik's Cube. Link: Palbox
Parity: Relationship between corners and edges. If a swap of just 2 corners or 2 edges is required on a 4x4x4, it is a parity error.
PB: Personal Best. Usually used for personal best single times.
Picture Cube: [puzzle]
Rubik's Cube with pictures on each side instead of one solid color. Equivalent to a Super Cube.
Permutation: Where a piece needs to be moved to complete a certain task
Permutation of Last Layer: Set of algirithms to permute all last layer pieces in one step without disturbing the orientation. Total of 21 patterns including mirrors and inverses. Last stage in Jessica Fridrich's LBL. Average 14 moves. Also called LLP.
Permutation Parity: 4-edge cycle on a Revenge. Chris Hardwick's algorithm is r2U2r2U2u2r2u2.
Petrus Method: A block-approach invented by Lars Petrus, the 4th place finisher from Sweden in the 1982 World Championship in Budapest. This is probably the second most popular solving system among speedcubers.
Phantom Cube: [puzzle]
Fully-functional 3x3x4.
Piece-by-Piece: [blindfold]
Method of solving puzzles blindfolded piece by piece, not in cycles. Explained fully on Richard Carr's .pdf document.
Pillow Cube: [puzzle]
Pillow-shaped 14-sided puzzle made by trimming the edges of a Rubik's Cube.
Pivot: = Rolling POP
PLL: (abbrev.) Permutation of Last Layer
Plus Yellow Scheme: = Official Color Scheme
PnXsnX'sn'Pn': Technique for "finding moves that swap/rotates edges/corners" used by Olly. (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/family.hayden/cube/cube_frontpage.html)See conjugation.
POP: When a piece or pieces of a puzzle separates from the main part of the puzzle while solving. In UWR, 1 POP is permitted per an average set, and is discarded, and an additional solve is given to the solver. JSCC does not allow POPs. Intentional POP is diallowed, and will result in disqualification.
Preinspection: Time given to the cuber prior to each solve to inspect the cube. Generally 15 seconds. Usually used to "read" the first step of the solve.
Professor Cube: [puzzle]
Rubik's Cube with 5 pieces on an edge; 25 pieces on one face.
Puzzle-21: [puzzle]
= Square-1
Puzzle Building: Building and creating of new puzzles.
Pyraminx: [puzzle]
puzzle similar to Rubik's Cube in shape of a tetrahedron.
invented and produced by Uwe Mefferts.
Pyramorphix: [puzzle]
Tetrahedron-shaped puzzle with the mechanism of 2x2x2. Changes shapes.

QTM: (abbrev.) Quarter Turn Metric
Quarter Turn: A 90 degree turn.
Quarter Turn Metric: System of counting where a half turn is considered 2 moves, and slice moves are considered 2 moves.

R
R2-D2: [puzzle]
An R2-D2 shaped 3x3x3.
RA: (abbrev.) Rolling Average
Rainbow Cube: [puzzle]
RCC: (abbrev.)Rubik's Champioinship Committee
Real No Cut: Unedited video of 12 consecutive solves. Started by Katsuyuki Konishi.
Resolution: Solving. Often used to refer to the solving step of blindfolded solves.
Revenge: = Rubik's Revenge
R-face
Rhombic Prism: [puzzle]
Invented by Tony Fisher.
R.N.C.: (abbrev.)Real No Cut
Rolling Average: Average where the start and the finish were not strictly pre-determined. For example, doing 20 solves and taking from the 7th to 18th solve is considered a rolling average. Rolling Averages are permitted on UWR. However, many in JSCC does not consider this a valid average.
Rolling POP: When a corner twists in its place without a POP, resulting in an unsolvable situation of the cube.
Rubik's Bricks: [puzzle]
Rubik's Challenge: = Rubik's Games
Rubik's Champioinship Committee: RCC. Organizers of WC2003.
Rubik's Clock
Rubik's Cube: [puzzle]
Cube-shaped puzzle divided into 26 smaller pieces, which can be twisted in three direction.
Invented by Prof. Erno Rubiks in 70's, this puzzle caused the first cube craze in the early 80's.
From the time this cube has been invented, we human has been continueing the endless journey to search for the perfect solution, to solve the cube as fast as possible, to solve it blindfolded, etc, etc...
Rubik's Delusion: [puzzle]
= Professor Cube
Rubik's Deluxe: 80's tiled Rubik's Cube with arched centers. Has Japanese Color Scheme.
Rubik's Dice: [puzzle]
Rubik's Domino: [puzzle]
fully-working 2x2x3. consists of two layers, black and white.
Each layer has 9 cubies which has numbers 1-9.
Rubik's Game: Rubik's Cube with holes in the middle of each tile used to put in pegs. Played like a tic-tac-toe. Has Japanese Color Scheme.
Rubik's Homer Simpson Cube: [puzzle]
Rubik's Magic: [puzzle]
Tiled puzzle that cahnges shapes. Produced in 2 different sizes.
Rubik's Revenge: [puzzle]
4x4x4; Rubik's Cube with 4 pieces on 1 edge(16 pieces on 1 face)
has 24 center pieces, 24 edge pieces, and 8 corner pieces.
Rubik's Tangle: [puzzle]
Rubik's UFO: [puzzle]
Rubik's Wahn: 5x5x5 produced by Ideal Toy Corporation in 1982.
Ryan Heise's Method

S: Side. The slice between F and B. "S" as a notation refers to the turning of the S slice in direction of F.
s: [suffix]
move suffix indicating oppsite face to be turned in the other direction (clockwise - anticlockwise), or visually the same direciton.
Saturday Contest: International online speedcubing contest held every Saturday. Categories: 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4, and a special catgory each week. Organized by Raul Garcia.
SC: (abbrev.)Sunday Contest
Scramble: To scramble a cube randomly.
Scrambling Sequence: A random sequence to scramble the cube.
Can be given using programs such as Ultimate Rubik's Timer (programmed by Jess Bonde)
Seven Sins of Speedcubers: Accoding to Duncan Dick, they are
"1.. Taking a cube to bed with you
2.. Solving a cube when you should be working or studying
3.. Intolerance of those who can't solve the cube
4.. Frustration at the stupid things people say when they find out you can do the cube
5.. Deliberately popping during a slow solve
6.. Talking cube jargon to those who have no way of udnerstanding
7.. Teaching other people to solve the cube"
Original posting on Yahoo! forum.
Siamese Cube: [puzzle]
2 Rubik's Cubes connected together. Has a wide variety of types.
Side: = face
Silicone Spray: The choice of lubricant for most cubers. Some popular brands are Prestone, SNAP, Gunk, and Tempo.
Skewb: [puzzle]
Skewb Diamond: [puzzle]
Skewb variation
Skewb Ultimate: [puzzle]
Skewb variation with diagonal cuts
Slice (Move): Turning two opposite sides in the same direction (opposite rotation, clockwise or counter-clockwise). M, E, S, s, a. For M, E, and S, many people have different idea of direction.
Slim Tower: [puzzle]
Fully working 2x2x3
Slot: Spaces between adjacent edges of the cross, where corresponding corner-edge pairs are inserted during F2L. F2L consists of four slots.
SN32801 +: Lots for Oddzon cubes with arched centers. First seen in 2004.
Spector Cube: [puzzle]
Fully-working 3x4x4
Speedcuber: One who solves a Rubik's Cube and/or cube-related puzzles for speed
Speedcubing: The sport of solving a Rubik's Cube or a related puzzle as quickly as possible.
Speedsolving
Spider: = spindle (David Salvia)
Spindle: The six pointed part on the center of the cube to which each of the centers is attached by a screw or rivet. = spider (David Salvia)
SQTM
Square-1: [puzzle]
(also called Puzzle 21) Shape-changing puzzle, whose object is to put it back into a cube with all 6 sides having 1 single color.
Square Group
Stackmat Timer: Competition timer pad with sensitive hand-pads. Originally for Cup Stacking, but also used in speedcubing competitions since WC2003.
Stage: A step in the process of solving the cube consisting of more than 3 moves.
Jessica Fridrich's LBL Method has 7 stages:
1. Cross
2. F2L Slot #1
3. F2L Slot #2
4. F2L Slot #3
5. F2L Slot #4
6. OLL (Orientation of last Layer)
7. PLL (Permutation of Last Layer)
Stellated Pyraminx: [puzzle]
Pyraminx with triangular attachments on the sides.
Sticker: Stickers put on puzzles. Most recent stickers on cubes have plastic sheets on top of them, which peel off easily. Many have used marking sheet, plastic binder, paint, tiles, etc. as alternatives.
Stick-shift: Repetition of RU (order 105). Jessica Fridrich's drill. Fridrich achieves a speed of 10 tps.
Studio Cube: Popular speedcube with tunable centers. Can be purchased from Ton. Has BOY Color Scheme, and high quality stickers with darker colors than that of newer cubes.
Sub-: prefix frequently used in speedcubing to signify "under (something)" time. e.g. sub-20
SUD: Switching U and D. Set of all algorithms to move all corners in their correct layer without disturbing the orientation. Second to last step of some corners (or 2x2x2) solutions, including Gaetan Guimond's and Victor Ortega's. Followed by XLL. A phrase coined by Katsuyuki Konishi.
Sunday Contest: International online speedcubing contest (average of 12) held every Sunday.
Sune(TM): RUR'URU2R'. Lars Petrus' algorithm to orient the last layer corners without permuting them. Orients 3 corners and permutes 3 edges. The main algorithm for Step 6 of Petrus Method. Lars Petrus performs this algorithm in 0.7 second.
Supercube Group: An extension of the cube group in which the orientation of each center is taken into account. For example, the sequence [RUR'U]x5 is an identity in the cube group but is not an identity in the supercube group.
Super Cubix: [puzzle]
= Square-1's first name when originally sold in the West
Superflip: 12-edge flip. Used in blindfoldcubing
Superfliptwist
Super-superflip: from http://www.speedcubing.com: "any one of the 86 total positions where every piece is in its correct location, but none have the correct orientation."
SveKub: The official Swedish Cube Association. SveKub website.

t: Suffix for triple turn. Used for 5x5x5.
Tartan Cube: A picture cube each of whose cubie is colored like a 2x2x2. Created by Dan Hoey.
Team Absolut: A group of French cubers that are French.
Team Blindfold Solving: A solve done by two people in which the "solver" is blindfolded the entire time and the "caller" tells the solver what to do. The caller may not touch the cube. Almost all of the fastest times have been achieved by a team with Ian Winokur as the caller.
Terutoshi Ishige: Inventor of Rubik's Cube (independently from Erno Rubik)
Tesseract: 4D Cube
Tetrahedron: [puzzle]
Textured Cube 3x3x3: [puzzle]
Rubik's Cube with 6 textures instead of colors
Thomas Ball: [puzzle]
Tilt: [speedcubing]
Speedcubing technique, in which the cube is titlted.
Tps.: Turns per second. Used in speedcubing to determine the average speed of a solve
(turns excuted in the solve divided by solving time).
>3 tps. is needed to break 18 seconds.
Trajber's Octahedron: [puzzle]
Trigger: A type of FSC.
Tsukuda Original
Turn: Another name for move
Twist: 1. Another name for move
2. Orientation of a corner piece
3. To change the orientation of a corner piece.
Two generator: Scrambling and solving using two faces, namely R and U.
Two-phase algorithm
Two-step OLL

U
U-face
Ultimate Scramble: A cube pattern in which no two stickers with same colors are placed adjacent (including diagonal)
Unofficial Speedcubing Top Ten: The top ten unofficially fastest cubers on www.speedcubing.com
UuRr 4x4x4: A speedcubing method invented by Stefan Pochmann. As the name implies, after building the lower left block, the method only uses U, u, R, and r.
UWR: (abbrev.) Unofficial World Record

VH System: LBL method invented by Lars Vandenberg and Dan Harris.

w: Notation suffix for indicating Double Layer Turn.
Waterman Method: Highly developed CF method which allows one to solve a Rubik's Cube in as fast as 16 seconds avg.
WC Table Mat Timing System: Method of timing using a timing pad, which starts when leaving the hands off the mat and stops when hands are placed back on it. Simulation of WC 2003. Started by Katsuyuki Konishi, and now an "official rule" adopted by UWR.
WC 2003: Rubik's Game World Champioinship 2003 in Toronto, Canada.
Held on August 23 & 24 as the first Rubik's world competition in 21 years since 1982 Budapest World Championship. Links: www.speedcubing.com - WC 2003
WC 2005: Championship currently being planned by RCC. To be held in Orlando, Florida in November, 2005.
WCC: World Cube Cup. Online country vs. country cubing competition organized by Tyson Mao. Links: Tyson Mao's Webpage
Wednesday Contest
Whip-it!: [puzzle]
Wide Tower: [puzzle]
2x2x3 bandaged variation of Revenge
Wing: Outer edge for 5x5x5. Not commonly used.
Winning Moves
World Cube Association: International association of cubers. Formed in mid-2004 with Ron van Bruchem, Chris Hardwick, and Tyson Mao as the Board. Used to be called World Rubik's Cube Association (WRCA). WCA Website.
World Rubik's Cube Association: World Cube Association's original name.
World Speedcubing Union: One of names originally suggested for World Cube Association.
WRCA: World Rubik's Cube Association
WSU: World Speedcubing Union

x: A whole cube turn in the direction of R. Same as (r) in JSCC notation.
X: One of Singmaster's notations
XCross: = Extended Cross
XLL: Set of all algorithms (5 patterns in all) to permute all corners correctly in their respective layer without disturbing the orientation. Last step of some corners (or 2x2x2) solutions, including Gaetan Guimond's and Victor Ortega's. A phrase coined by Katsuyuki Konishi.

y: A whole cube turn in the direction of U. Same as (u) in JSCC notation.

z: A whole cube turn in the direction of F. Same as (f) in JSCC notation.
ZB: Zborowski-Bruchem Method
ZBF2L: Zborowski-Bruchem F2L. Fixing the edge orientation of the last layer while fixing the fourth slot of the F2L.
ZBLL: Zborowski-Bruchem Last Layer. Corresponds to Petrus Method steps 5-7, and permute the edges and orient and permute the corners without disturbing the edge orientation in one step. A total of 177 algorithms. (Not including inverses or mirrors.)
Zborowski-Bruchem Method: Highly-developed 1-look last layer LBL method that allows one to solve a cube in 40 moves on average (even when going for speed) and 15 seconds on avg.
Requires 300 algorithms to be memorized. Developed independently by Zbigniew Zborowski and Ron van Bruchem Link: Zbigniew Zborowski's site.

Cube Glossary (Outdated)

Symbol

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z