Buzz
Breakdancing is experiencing an unexpected resurgence, decades after it first burst onto the scene in the 1970s as a vibrant celebration of Black American and Latino heritage. Making its debut as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Paris Games, this dynamic art form will take center stage. To mark this historic occasion and help you navigate the conversation like a pro, here’s a breakdown of essential breakdancing lingo.
B-boying/B-girling
Breakdancing in New York’s Washington Square Park during the 1980s. | Leo Vals/GettyImagesAccording to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, the term breaking—a condensed version of breakdancing—refers to a dance style that originated in New York’s South Bronx. It involves spinning, twisting, and pivoting on body parts like heads, elbows, and knees, all performed to hip-hop or rap music. A breaker is someone who breakdances, and to break means to engage in this dance form. A 2008 excerpt from The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash illustrates breaking and other terms from this now-Olympic sport: “Popping, locking, b-boying, and baby-rocking. This wasn’t the ground-level windmills, backspins, or acrobatics people associate with ‘break dancing’ today. It wasn’t even called ‘break dancing.’ It was breakin’. It was about finding that rhythmic snippet in the song [...] where nothing else mattered but the beat, and then moving to it.”
B-boy and B-girl
B-girl Ami from Japan in action at the Olympic Qualifier Series 2024. | ATTILA KISBENEDEK/GettyImagesThese terms originally described breakdancers but have since broadened to include anyone immersed in hip-hop culture. The earliest recorded use of b-boy appeared in the Village Voice in 1981: “The legends’ protagonists are the ... B Boys, the Puerto Rican and Black teens who create and endlessly refine this intricate, exhilarating mix of dance, acrobatics, and martial arts spectacle.”
Cypher and Cypher Cat
A participant showcases their skills at the B-Boy Championships in London, 2004. | Bruno Vincent/GettyImagesA cypher refers to a circle where breakdancers take turns performing while others observe. A dancer renowned for their cypher abilities is called a cypher b-boy, cypher b-girl, or cypher cat. The term cypher (or cipher) has historical meanings that may connect to its breakdancing usage, such as “a secret code” or “the symbol for zero,” which also resembles a circle.
B-boying
The term b-boying, synonymous with breakdancing, appears in David Toop’s 1984 book The Rap Attack: “B-boying emerged simultaneously with DJing and rapping.”
Bite
In breakdancing and rap, biting refers to stealing. If someone bites your lyrics or moves, they’ve copied them. The term bite has a long history of negative connotations, dating back to the 1500s, where it meant “to cheat, deceive, or steal.” The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites a 1591 example from Robert Greene’s The Second Part of Conny-catching: “The Priggar had smoakt the game, and perceiued he was bitten of all the bite in his bung.” In B-boying, biting is never seen as original or cool.
Freeze
The term freeze is straightforward: it describes holding a pose, often involving complex balance, either during or at the conclusion of a dance routine.
Pop
As explained by VolumeOne, popping involves “a rhythmic flexing of muscles synchronized to the beat; movements such as arm waves and body waves create the illusion of an electric current flowing through the dancer.” This definition aligns with other uses of pop, which often denote brief, sharp, or explosive actions.
Set
B-Boy Mounir. | Ryan Pierse/GettyImagesSimilar to a comedian’s routine or a band’s setlist, a breaker’s rehearsed sequence of moves is referred to as a “set.”
Crashing
Even the most skilled breakers can crash, which means exactly what it sounds like: a botched move leading to a fall. At the Olympics, competitors will do everything possible to avoid such mishaps.
Throwdown
B-boy Lee from the Netherlands in action at the Olympic Qualifier Series 2024. | ATTILA KISBENEDEK/GettyImagesThe OED describes throwdown as “a performance or competition involving DJs, rappers, or similar artists. More broadly, it can also mean a contest or confrontation.” In breakdancing, to throwdown means to hit the floor and start dancing. The term’s earliest recorded use, per the OED, comes from a 1979 flyer: “M.Y.F. presents their second annual throwdown featuring Master ‘D’.”
Call out
This term is a more assertive counterpart to the throwdown: it specifically refers to “spontaneously challenging another breaker to a battle.” If you’re called out, you’d better be ready to throwdown.
The use of call out isn’t exclusive to breaking. Comparable uses of the term, signifying “demanding or requesting something from someone,” have been documented in English since the 1400s. A specific variation involving challenging someone to a duel traces back to 1671, with its first recorded instance in Thomas Shadwell’s The Humorists: A Comedy: “Brisk. Well, ha, ha, ha, I’ve reconsidered, and Gad, you’re such an honest fellow that I refuse to fight you. Raym. Then why did you call me out?” Whether then or now, a call out is akin to a verbal challenge or provocation.
