The Latest Cornhole Terminology for 2025 – Fun & Easy Guide
A beginner often has trouble understanding cornhole terminology since it can be a little confusing. To solve this problem, we have collected and defined 50 cornhole terms from both official and unofficial cornhole sources. This guide will help you understand the cornhole world better and make you more confident!
Also Relevant: Best Cornhole Bags to Win Every Tournament in 2025
1. Ace or Cowpie
An Ace (also called a Cowpie) is when you throw a bag and it lands directly on the board (but not in the hole). It’s worth 1 point. Think of it like a little “landing spot” that scores you a point!
2. Airmail
An Airmail is a toss where the bag flies high and straight into the hole without sliding or bouncing along the board. It’s like sending a letter through the air—super direct and cool!
3. Back Door
A Back Door is when a bag finds its way into the hole by coming over or around another bag that’s blocking the path. It’s like sneaking in through the side door when the front is blocked!
4. Backstop
A Backstop is a bag that slides or lands past the hole but still stays on the board. It acts like a little wall at the back that can help knock another bag into the hole. Imagine it as a helpful friend blocking a slide-off!
5. Blocker
A Blocker is a bag that sits on the board in front of the hole. Its job is to stop your opponent’s bag from easily sliding into the hole. Think of it as setting up a tiny barrier between your opponent and the prize!
6. Breaking in Cornhole Bags
Breaking in cornhole bags means playing with them for a while until they become softer and easier to throw. Usually, new bags are stiff and you need some careful methods to break in your new cornhole bags.
7. Bustling
Busting is an unofficial rule where if your score goes over a certain number (often 21), your score gets dropped back down to a set number. It’s a penalty that reminds you to keep your score in check—like a game rule that says “don’t overdo it!”
8. Butterfly Grip
The butterfly grip is a special way of holding your bag. You pinch the corner of the bag between your thumb and index finger (almost like holding a little butterfly gently) before you throw it. This grip can help you control how the bag flies!
9. Cancellation
Cancellation is a scoring method in cornhole where each team’s points “cancel out” the other’s. For example, if one team scores 5 points and the other scores 3 points in an inning, only the difference (2 points) is added to the team with the higher score. It keeps the game exciting by only counting the extra points!
10. Cornament
A Cornament is simply a cornhole tournament—a big event where lots of players or teams come together to compete in cornhole. It’s like a championship for the game you love!
11. Cornhole (or Drain “O”/Cornholio)
When you get a bag in the hole, that’s called a Cornhole (sometimes nicknamed Drain “O” or even Cornholio). It’s the best kind of throw because it scores 3 points! It’s like hitting the jackpot with your toss.
12. Cornfusion
Cornfusion happens when players can’t agree on how many points to award after an inning. It’s a mix-up or confusion about the score—like when you and your friend can’t decide whose turn it is in a game.
13. Cut Shot
A cut shot is a throw where you make your bag curve sharply around a blocker (another bag in the way) so that it still goes into the hole. Imagine your bag as a little race car making a quick turn to avoid a barrier!
14. Dirty Bag (also known as Dirt Bag)
A Dirty Bag is one that touches the ground before it reaches the board, or if it’s hanging off the board and touching the ground. This bag doesn’t count for any points and must be removed before you continue playing. Imagine it like a muddy shoe that can’t join the team!
15. Dirty Roll Up
A Dirty Roll-Up happens when a bag touches the ground first and then lands on the board. Since it’s had a “dirty” start, it earns you 0 point. It’s a bit like a slide that takes an unexpected twist!
16. Flat Discs Fill
“Flat discs” are tiny, coin-like pieces that are flat and help keep the bag even and stable when it slides on the board.
17. Flat Throw
A Flat Throw is when you toss the bag in a very low, straight line so that it barely arcs in the air. The bag stays almost parallel to the board as it travels—like sliding a pancake across a table!
18. Flop Bag (or Floppy Bag)
A Flop Bag is thrown in a way that it doesn’t spin at all. It just sort of flops without any rotation. Imagine a pancake flipping in the air—without the spin, it just lands flat!
19. Four-bagger
A Four-bagger is when one player manages to get all four bags into the hole during a single inning. It doesn’t matter if some bags got there because they knocked others in—the key is that all four of your bags end up in the hole. That’s a super impressive round!
20. Frame
A Frame is just another word for an inning or round in cornhole. During a frame, both teams take turns tossing their bags. Think of it like one complete cycle of the game where everyone gets a turn.
21. Frisbee
Frisbee describes a throw where you hold the corner of the bag between your thumb and index finger and then sling it like a frisbee. Instead of a gentle toss, the bag flies with a spinning, swooshing motion—just like when you throw a real frisbee!
22. Grand Bag
A Grand Bag is similar to a four-bagger, but with a twist. Here, you throw all four bags directly into the hole one after another without any of them being knocked in by accident. It’s like a perfectly choreographed performance where everything goes right.
23. Gusher (also called Double Deuce, Jumanji, or Catorce)
A Gusher is when you score four cornholes (in the hole) in a single inning. That means every one of your four bags finds its way into the hole! It’s an amazing streak, like scoring a home run in baseball every single toss.
24. Hammer
A Hammer is a special high-arching toss used when there are one or more hangers (those bags on the edge of the hole). You throw the bag like an airmail with a big arc in the air to try and knock those hanger bags into the hole. It’s like using a little hammer to tap them in!
25. Hanger (also sometimes called “shook”)
A Hanger is a bag that’s caught on the very edge of the hole, just about to drop in. It’s super exciting because it might fall in and score you those big 3 points. Imagine a swing hanging by a thread before it finally lets go!
26. Hole-Friendliness
This term tells you how easily a bag falls into the hole on the board. A bag that is very hole-friendly will almost “magically” drop into the hole, even if it lands near the edge. Some bags are super floppy and they grab the hole more easily as compared to other stiff bags.
27. Honors
Honors is the special term for the player or team that scored last in the previous inning. Because they scored, they get to throw first in the next inning. It’s like being given the “first move” bonus for doing well!
28. Hooker
A Hooker is a bag that hits the board and curves around a blocker before landing in the hole. It’s a sneaky, curving throw that still finds its way home for 3 points—like a twisty slide that leads to success!
29. Jumper
A Jumper is a bag that hits another bag on the board and bounces up—sometimes right into the hole. It’s like one bag giving another a little boost!
30. Jump Shot
A Jump Shot in cornhole is when a player actually jumps and then throws the bag at the hole—kind of like shooting a basketball in mid-air! It’s a fun, energetic way to throw that shows off your athletic side.
31. Leprechaun
A Leprechaun occurs when you throw all four bags onto the board and none of them go into the hole. Even though none are perfect “cornholes,” it still shows great control—like collecting a pot of gold by keeping all your tosses on the board.
32. Leprechaun
A Leprechaun occurs when you throw all four bags onto the board and none of them go into the hole. Even though none are perfect “cornholes,” it still shows great control—like collecting a pot of gold by keeping all your tosses on the board.
33. Lick Side (also called a Cross)
The term “Lick Side” or “Cross” is used when a player has to throw from the same side of the board as their dominant (stronger) hand.
For example, if you’re right-handed and you’re throwing from the right side, it might feel a bit awkward—this situation is known as the lick side. It can be trickier because your body might not be facing the board the best way.
34. Overhand Toss
Instead of the usual underhand toss (where you swing your arm from below), an overhand toss is when you throw the bag from above your head. It’s similar to throwing a ball like a baseball pitcher, and it looks pretty different from a regular cornhole throw!
35. Pitcher’s Box
The Pitcher’s Box is the special area where you must stand when you throw your bag. It’s usually a rectangle (about three feet by four feet) next to each board. Your feet have to stay inside this box during your throw, or it counts as a foul.
36. Police
The Police is just a fun nickname for the person acting as the referee or scorekeeper during a game of cornhole. They help make sure everyone follows the rules and keeps track of the points—just like a real police officer keeps order.
37. Push (or Wash)
A Push (or Wash) happens when both players or teams end up with the same score in an inning. Since neither side beats the other, no one’s score changes.
38. Roll Shot
A roll shot is when you throw your bag so that it lands on the board and then rolls all the way into the hole. It’s like setting a ball rolling on a gentle slope until it reaches the target!
39. Romanyk
A Romanyk happens when a player sinks all four bags in a row during one inning. If you manage to do it back-to-back in successive rounds, it’s sometimes called a “Menage a Manyk.”
40. Round Beads Fill
“Round bead fill” means using small, round pellets (like little balls) that make the bag feel soft and help it settle gently on the board. It also makes them more hole-friendly.
41. Sally (or Corn Patty)
A Sally (sometimes called a Corn Patty) is a toss that’s too weak. The bag doesn’t even reach the board—it lands on the ground instead.
42. Short Bag
A Short Bag is one that falls on the ground just before reaching the board. It’s a toss that didn’t go far enough—kind of like when you throw a ball and it barely leaves your hand.
43. Shot Shaping
Shot shaping is the art of making your bag take a certain path when you throw it. By changing how you throw—maybe giving it a little curve or twist—you can try to avoid obstacles and steer your bag toward the hole.
44. Shucker
A Shucker happens when you throw a bag and it bumps into an opponent’s bag, knocking that bag off the board. It’s almost like giving a little “nudge” to the other bag so it falls away.
45. Skunk (also called Whitewash or Shutout)
A Skunk (or Whitewash/ Shutout) is a game where one side wins by a huge margin. In some rules, if one team scores 11–0 (or sometimes 21–0), the game is over right away. It’s a score so one-sided that it’s like getting a “skunk” stamp!
46. Skunk (also called Whitewash or Shutout)
A Sky Bag is when you toss the bag really high into the air so that it flies well past the board before coming down. It’s as if your bag is taking a little airplane ride—way up high—and then landing far from the board!
47. Slider (or Slide)
A Slider is thrown with just the right amount of force so that it hits the front of the board and slides smoothly all the way into the hole. It’s a graceful and controlled toss that earns 3 points.
48. Stanker
A Stanker is a bag that, for one reason or another, is considered “foul” or not allowed in play. It might be thrown in a way that breaks the rules, so it’s called a stanker. Think of it as a bag that didn’t follow the game’s rules and is sent out!
49. Swish
A Swish is a throw where the bag goes directly into the hole without ever touching the board. It’s a smooth, flawless toss—like a basketball swishing through the net!
50. Woody
A Woody is any bag that ends up sitting on the board at the end of an inning. Even though it didn’t go into the hole, it still earns 1 point because it’s on the board. Think of it as a little resting spot that gives you a point.