Battlestar Galactica terminology

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This is a list of terms used in the Battlestar Galactica television series.

1 Dialect
2 Slang and nicknames
3 Acronyms
4 Measurements
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Dialect

boxing or to be boxed - originally a cylon term. To download a cylon's consciousness into a storage device instead of a new body. This can happen either as a punishment or for safety reasons, when said consciousness is deemed corrupted or too unstable to be downloaded into a new body.
Code Blue! - internal security alarm call.
felgercarb - profanity. Same meaning as "shit", only used in the original Battlestar Galactica series.
frack - profanity. Same meaning as "fuck", used in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) series. See frak.
frak - new spelling for "frack" used in the new Battlestar Galactica. (Same meaning as "fuck"). Same usage as the original series, but greatly expanded, and it also seems to carry the same "social weight" as fuck, as characters sometimes apologise for their language after using it.
- frak-head - from the new Battlestar Galactica miniseries, derived from "frak", substitution for "asshole" or "fuck-head": when the miniseries originally aired on SciFi channel the phrase "superior asshole" was used by Starbuck (Kara Thrace) - when later aired on NBC the phrase became "superior frak-head".
- frakwit/frakwad - Used once by Chief Tyrol when explaining to the Pegasus deck chief why the Galactica deck crew was so angry. He said that Admiral Cain had assigned "some frakwad from the Pegasus" to be Galactica's new deck chief. As it turns out, the person who he was explaining it to was that frakwad, but he did not seem in any way offended.
- motherfrakker - derived from "frak" in parallel to "motherfucker". Used first by Specialist Cally in Season 2 and later by Lieutenant Kat and Starbuck, but apparently not standard usage, as Chief Tyrol finds Cally's usage quite amusing, though this may also be because Cally rarely (if ever) curses.
- toasterfrakker - by extension, someone, like Helo, who's had sexual congress with a human-model Cylon.
galmonging - derogative term only used in the original series. Roughly the same meaning as "bastard" or "asshole". First used in Part 1 of "living legend".
Krypter! - distress call equivalent to "MayDay". Usually repeated in quick succession: "Krypter! Krypter! Krypter!". First heard used by Lee Adama in the miniseries.
projecting - cylon term. To create a virtual reality in someone's own mind. Cylon human-models use projecting as a break from reality, a rough equivalent to daydreaming. Another application of projecting is to make travelling around basestars easier for human-model Cylons. Because all the corridors and hallways in a Basestar look very similar, Cylons "project" familiar surroundings in order to find their way more easily. For example, Number Six sees the inside of a basestar as a large forest. When Baltar first hears of projecting in the season three Torn episode, he realises that projecting is strikingly similar to the hallucinations involving Number Six he's experiencing, thus reinforcing his suspicions that he might be a Cylon himself.

[edit] Slang and nicknames

Beast, the - nickname of battlestar Pegasus, given by the crew of Galactica. See Bucket.
Big G, the - nickname given by Viper pilots to Galactica.
bird farm - a battlestar, in colonial military jargon.
blackshirt - profane term for Council Security. Only used in the original series.
Bucket, the - nickname of battlestar Galactica, given by the crew of Pegasus. See Beast.
chrome job - pejorative term used by Humans to describe Cylon centurions. See skin job.
Download City - slang term used by Humans to describe a place where Cylons are resurrected. Usually refers to a Resurrection ship. First used in the season 3 episode "Exodus".
nugget - nickname given to rookie pilots.
skin job - pejorative term used by Humans to describe human-model Cylons. Originally a Blade Runner terminology it was first used in Season 2. See chrome job.
toaster - pejorative term used by Humans to describe Cylon centurions.

[edit] Acronyms

CAG: Commander of the Air Group (commanding officer of a battlestar`s pilots).
CBDR: Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range (a collision course between two objects).
CIC: Combat Information Center.
CMO: Chief Medical Officer.
CNP: Command Navigation Program. Designed by Gaius Baltar.
CO: Commanding Officer.
DRADIS: "Direction, Range, and Distance". Colonial equivalent of radar.
EMI: Electro-Magnetic Interference.
FTL: Faster Than Light.
IFF: Identification Friend or Foe transponder.
RFN: Right Fraking Now (ASAP).
XO: Executive Officer (second in command).
CAP: Combat Air Patrol.