Glossary of Darts - S

S

Scroat

A dart that is aimed for triple 20, but ends up in double 20.

Scud

Aiming for something and hitting something else that either marks or points.

Set

A scoring method used in many tournaments.

Shaft

The part of a dart behind the barrel where the flights are mounted.

Shanghai

Refers to hitting a single, double and triple of the same number. Players throw at each number on the board in turn, scoring points, with the first player to hit a Shanghai being declared the winner. It no player achieves a Shanghai, then the player with the most points wins. In some variations Shanghai is not an automatic win, but is rewarded with bonus points.

Sharkey

A non-registered player who assumes a false identity in order to fill in for an absent player in a league game.

Shotgun blast

All three darts thrown at one time.

Shut out

When you lose a game without ever scoring in it.

Single-bull

On dartboards configured with a bullseye consisting of two concentric circles, single-bull refers to the outer circle, which is commonly green and worth 25 points. The inner circle is commonly red and worth 50 points. There is speculation to whether this is called the bullseye or indeed called the target. See also: bullseye and double-bull.

Skunked

When you lose a game without ever scoring in it.

Slop

Darts that score, but not where you wanted them, also known as a scud.

Spider

The metal web that divides the dartboard into sections.

Splash

throwing two or more darts at the board at the same time. Hitting a scoring number that was not the intended target.

Spray and pray

Darts thrown aimlessly.

Sticks

The darts themselves.

Straight in

A game that requires no special shot to begin scoring (also "straight off").

Straight out

A game that requires no special shot to finish a game. i.e. Players on 15 can hit the S15 to win instead of going S7, D4.

Striking Iraq

Hitting a double bull when diddling for the middle – comes from the Gulf War, when Iraq was being bombed, as Iraq has lots of oil. (See striking oil).

Striking oil

Hitting a double bull when diddling for the middle. So called because of the black centre to the bullseye of some modern dart boards.