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NCIS glossary built by you, the fans

A lot of NCIS Fans are curious about some of the terminology used on NCIS. So, here's your chance to help! Fill in one of the commonly used terms and add the definition/meaning.

Use the formatting below and try and keep it in alphabetical order. :)
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A - C
TermDefinition
Abbycadabra When Abby works her magic and finds answers when nobody else can.
AFIS Automated Fingerprint Identification System - Check out this Wikipedia-Link for full info on this software
Anacostia Section of Washington DC
APB All Points Bulletin
Arlington 1) The city (VA) where the Pentagon (Dept of Defense) is located
OR
2) The best known cemetery for our fallen heroes of the military. Now getting quite difficult to have someone buried here. Tomb of the Unknowns located here.
ATF Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (a villain pretends to be an ATF agent working undercover, when the NCIS team do a sting to catch someone who is dealing in armaments, 1x21 Split Decision)
Bethesda 1) Navy military hospital, north Washington DC and one that they would take the American President to, if ill at the White House (presumably easy to secure as it is military) and as Commander in Chief the President also gets his doctors from here.
2) Town in Maryland
BOLO Be On the Look Out
Bokar Tov Hebrew for good morning
Bravo Foxtrot Navy Lingo for Brother F***er
CIA Central Intelligence Agency which is a federal agency with no police function, only intelligence gathering function. Popularly supposed to run assassins and do dirty tricks. (American James Bond) Always, but always, hated by all other agencies, for the purposes of watching TV or movies. In real life, it used to be run by George Bush Senior. Their HQ is in Langley Virginia. Often derogatorily referred to as "Christians In Action" from their habit of going undercover as missionaries and aid workers.
CID (Army/Police) Criminal Investigation Division
CODIS Combined DNA Index System (Term used in "Frame-Up")
Cover
as opposed to:
undercover
taking cover
cover story
cover is blown
cover up
covering (for another)		 Gibbs and the marines call their hats a 'cover'. Not to be confused with going 'undercover', which means pretending to be someone else so you catch a crook. Or 'taking cover' which means sheltering from bullets and bombs. A 'cover story' is what DiNozzo was using when he pretended to be DiNardo, the university lecturer. Your 'cover is blown' when the bad guys realise that you are a cop. A 'cover up' is what Gibbs, Ducky and Franks did when they hid how Jenny died. 'Covering' for someone else is doing their work for them or hiding that they are absent from their work (Jenny covered for Tony when she sent him undercover and Gibbs queried why she had sent him home).
























D - G
Term Definition
Deep Six
 Name of McGee's novel, using a navy term for a place where you can get rid of waste six fathoms deep in the ocean. (Great place to dump a body). Something that is deep sixed has been thrown overboard.
Director
 Boss of NCIS. The real life director does a cameo appearance in 3x09 Frame-Up, offering to go and buy coffee for Gibbs, who declines. The status of the real-life Director is such that Mark Harmon expressed surprise that he would bother to come to their set, but the TV show has improved the public profile of NCIS to the real-agency's advantage.
Fair winds and following seas Navy for 'bon voyage': may your ship have the right winds to fill your sails and the right waves to help you along. Gibbs wishes this to the sailor's widow who is going to sea to scatter her husband's ashes. She replies to him: "semper fi", recognizing him as a Marine.
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has jurisdiction on crimes which go over state boundaries. The USA is a federation of states, with each state having autonomous jurisdiction over criminal law, except for certain 'federal crimes' which are covered by the various federal agencies.
Federal Agencies
 ATF, CIA, FBI, NCIS, NSA. You can find a very long list of agencies here.
FLETC
 Federal Law Enforcement Training Center - McGee said he trained there.
FUBAR
 Fouled Up Beyond All Reason. It describes itself. NB: In the military
'Fouled' is not normally the word the F stands for. R has also been identified as all "Recognition."
Gallipoli Site of an invasion of Turkey by Allied forces mainly the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in 1915 in WW1: Abby loves to say the word. She built a model of the battle, but Gibbs made her change the model to show it was an amphibious attack. Very important place in Australia and NZ history. Still strategically important to Turkish security on the Dardanelles. Gallipoli was a big error by Winston Churchill who was then First Lord of the Admiralty. Also the site of a major British encampment during the Crimean War.
Georgetown Older area of Washington DC environs, which has a high student population, a village character, riverside entertainment. Bookshops etc due to university population. Inner-city suburban in style, more English in layout than other parts of Washington DC, which are grander. A mere bus ride from the main railway station. Former port for DC. Considered to be one of better DC addresses to have if not living in the suburbs.
Giblet (but mispronounced as Gibb-let, instead of jiblet) Wiki-term, not used on the show. Denotes members of Gibbs' team who are younger than him. ("let" denotes "junior"). Gibbs+let = Gibblet but then we make a pun on "giblet" which is a culinary term for the edible extra parts of a bird including the heart, (+gizzard and liver pf duck, chicken, goose). Giblet = Gibbs' juniors, but also his 'hearts'.
Gitmo
 Guantanamo Bay: the NCIS-run prison off American soil (east end of Cuba.) where terrorist prisoners are kept without trial. Agent Cassidy was an interrogator there when we first met her.
Goat Rope
 Marine term. Halfway between FUBAR and SNAFU.




























H - L
Term Definition
Head
 Navy slang for the lavatory, WC, toilet, bathroom, loo.
The Hill
 Capitol Hill, Washington DC, where the people with political power are to be found making laws.
Gibbs to Jenny: "Butt-kissing on the Hill is a skill" was a derogatory description of the job of the Director of NCIS who has to get funding. The real-life NCIS credits the TV show with making it easier for them to persuade politicians to fund them properly, as the TV show gave funders a better appreciation of the range of NCIS work.
Homeland Security The quite scary concept of removing civil liberties (such as the right to a trial) on the grounds that the person might, maybe, somehow be a threat to the security of the US mainland, and Hawaii/Alaska. But very very convenient to Gibbs and Fornell, because all they have to do is mention "homeland security" and "Gitmo" and the hardest villains start telling all....
Interrogation
 An interrogation is where the police ask questions with the purpose of getting information about a crime from a suspect or a witness. If a person is “in custody”, then the police must give Miranda warnings; i.e., “read you your rights” before they can interrogate. The point of reading people their rights is to make sure any statements/confessions (answers to the police questions) are voluntary. In other words, the person in custody is answering police questions because he wants to, not because he is being threatened, coerced or beaten up. However, the question of when a person is “in custody” is not always clear. “In custody” does not always mean “under arrest”. Another way to think about whether a person is in custody is whether their movement /freedom is restricted in any way. The main point to remember about interrogations is that you never have to answer the police officers’ questions, no matter what they say or how they try to convince you it will help you to cooperate.
"Kate" Another Name for the sniper's rifle Ari used to kill Kate
Keel-Haul
 A punishment, referred to by Jenny Shepard when she forbade anyone from calling her Madam Director. In the navy of yesteryear, keel hauling was the process of being tied to ropes and pulled (hauled) down and under the keel and back up again (if you took a deep enough breath, you could survive, but it was "very unpleasant" especially if the hull hadn't been cleaned recently). Now the phrase is a way of saying "you will be in big trouble", as no longer practised in real life.
Just a funny annotation:
in German, we say "Kielholen" with exactly the same meaning.
Labby
 Abby's name for her lab.
Laila Tov
 Hebrew For "Good Night". Spoken by Ziva in "Kill Ari".
LEO Local Law Enforcement Officers


















M - Q
Term Definition
Manassas Historic location, part of the Washington DC suburbs just south of the District. The area is the site of the first battle of the American Civil War. There was another battle fought there a year or so later. Not to be confused with molasses, which is a syrup left when manufacturing sugar.
Mossad Israeli National Intelligence Agency Ziva used to work for.
"HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuhadim" in Hebrew
MTAC Multiple Threat Alert Center (MTAC) manned around the clock by analysts and special agents to produce intel about threats to the Navy and its personnel. These apparently exist in real life (but perhaps not in the way depicted on TV show). It was renamed from ATAC (Anti-Terrorist Alert Center) in 2002.
NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service (apart from being the name of the best show on TV, it is a real federal agency, known to Bellisario because of his time in the Marines)
Norfolk Norfolk, Virginia - Major navy base/docks and closest Naval base to Washington. Where McGee worked before joining Gibbs' team. (Does not refer to Norfolk in England nor Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean.)
Nougat Abby hates nougat! Ziva doesn't know what nougat is! Gibbs said it is a 'cream made of sugar, honey and nuts'. There are many types. Mostly it is sugar confectionary, featuring whipped egg white to aerate the sugar. English-speakers normally say "noo-gar" not "noo-guttt" (the "t" is silent, as it is in "ballet" or "chalet" but NKissers seem to love their "t") - This is 'turrón' for the Spanish speakers, not exactly the same, but pretty close.
NSA National Security Agency (much scarier than the CIA, apparently) chiefly deals with cryptology intelligence including foreign language translation and recently tasked with monitoring the Internet for threats. Located in Ft. Meade, MD, Director has a cabinet level position with the President. Colloquially known as No Such Agency, due to the level of secrecy surrounding its operations.
On It
 Means "I am about to start the task you just told me to do, boss" or "I'm already doing it".
On Your Six
 Means "I am right behind you". A person walking forwards is facing "12 o'clock", so a person behind them is on "6 o'clock" (to your right is 3 o'clock, to your left is 9 o'clock).
Petechial hemorrhaging
aka "petechial hemorrhage"		 Ducky often mentions the presence/absence of these broken capillaries in the eyes of the deceased: if present, they indicate suffocation.
A petechial hemorrhage is a tiny pinpoint red mark that is an important sign of asphyxia caused by some external means of obstructing the airways. They are also sometimes called "petechiae". Their presence often indicates a death by manual strangulation, hanging, or smothering. The hemorrhages occur when blood leaks from the tiny capillaries in the eyes, which can rupture due to increased pressure on the veins in the head when the airways are obstructed. If petechial hemorrhages and facial congestion are present, it is a strong indication of asphyxia by strangulation as the cause of death.
Policed
 Cleaning up after one's self. (Used in episode 3x14 "Light Sleeper"), i.e. as in police your brass - pick up the munition shells after firing a gun, which Ari didn't do in Twilight.
Posse Comitatus The Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act substantially limit the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. It is the reason that NCIS exists as a civilian (non-military) agency that looks after marines and sailors civilian law issues. It prevents military coups/dictatorships. The Homeland Security Act breaks this principle, big time.
Probie Probational Agent. A step before becoming a fully fledged field agent. McGee still gets called this by Tony, though he is now a field agent.












R - Z
Term Definition
Rigor Mortis Some hours after death, a body goes stiff. Then sometime later on, it goes soft again. It is the reason why dead people might be referred to as a "stiff" (which is a disrespectful but, sometimes, accurate description). Rigor depends on time since death and the atmospheric conditions (the air temperature and humidity).
Being frozen or drowned in very cold water can cause a type of suspended animation (especially in children), so Jimmy Palmer notes that you should only pronounce someone dead if they are warm and dead. Being 'frozen stiff' is not the same as 'suffering' from rigor mortis.
Rock Creek Park Park in Washington DC
SADS Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (from 4x23 "Trojan Horse").
Screw the pooch/screwed pooch Something that is totally stuffed. A MAJOR error. (from 1x02 "Hung out to Dry") Complete FUBAR. Cannot be recovered from or 'fixed'. "A **** up" in UK English
Scuttlebutt
 "Scuttlebutt" is what Marines call gossip (from 4x06 "Witch Hunt").
A "Scuttlebutt" is the term Marines use for the water cooler. Therefore "Scuttlebutt" is "water cooler gossip". Used in many episodes when referring to information that comes from a not so reliable source.
Don't make the same mistake Ziva did in 4x06 Witch Hunt - "according to someone called Scuttle... Butt."
SecNav Secretary of the Navy
Semper Fidelis
(aka Semper Fi)		 Means "Always Faithful" in Latin - It's the Motto Of the US Marine Corps and a common greeting between Marines. Both those currently active, reserves, and discharged. Once a Marine always a Marine, there are no "former" or "ex" Marines.
Sheket B'vakesha Hebrew for "Shut up"
Silver Spring
 Town in Maryland that borders Washington DC. Mentioned by a gang member in Season 3.
Sit. Rep. Situation Report
SNAFU
 Situation Normal: All Fouled Up. Things are mainly going wrong. "Another SNAFU..." See FUBAR for descriptor of 'F'.
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
Squadroom
 Correct term for what Wiki members call the "bullpen". First used by Gibbs in the season 2 episode "SWAK".
Squg
 A squatting hug: a hug given to someone who is sitting on the ground, forcing the hugger to squat to reach the huggee.
Stakeout
 A surveillance operation involving watching one place (premises) until the baddies move. Requires the ability to withstand boredom, not fall asleep and to notice things.
TAT Tactical Analysis Team
TBA Tri Border Area
Terminal leave
Terminal disease
Terminal (transport)		 Terminal leave is using up your holiday (or vacation) time before leaving the marines or navy.
Terminal disease is a disease for which there is no cure (it terminates or ends in death).
A shipping terminal or airport terminal is where your vessel or plane ends the journey.
TFOA
 Things Falling Off Aircraft. Mentioned in 1.05 (The Curse), Kate doesn't believe Tony when he tells her what it stands for. Despite its spelling, it is pronounced "TOFA" (rhymes with sofa).
Todah
 Hebrew for Thank You















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#1hotchfan 		Latest page update: made by #1hotchfan , Jun 28 2010, 3:37 PM EDT (about this update About This Update #1hotchfan Edited by #1hotchfan


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quiltbunnyr Glossary 2 Mar 3 2010, 11:41 PM EST by quiltbunnyr
Thread started: Mar 3 2010, 6:38 PM EST  Watch
Has anyone started a glossary where fans can get definitions of words or initials used on NCIS? My grandson in the army reserves got me a definition of "sig" but I have yet to get the derivation of "six-hour" or "crackerjacks".
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Zivas_boy_toy ***ADD: Shalom 0 Mar 11 2009, 2:07 AM EDT by Zivas_boy_toy
Thread started: Mar 11 2009, 2:07 AM EDT  Watch
Shalom, or Shalom aleichem (more formal), is the Hebrew term for "aloha". No, seriously, it IS used for hello and goodbye, but translates to "peace" or "peace be with you". It is very close to the Arabic greeting "Salaam alaychem" or "Peace be with you", to which you reply "Ayalaychem es salaam", or And to you, peace".
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Zivas_boy_toy Ziva in Mossad 0 Mar 11 2009, 2:03 AM EDT by Zivas_boy_toy
Thread started: Mar 11 2009, 2:03 AM EDT  Watch
Ziva is still in Mossad. She is only attached to NCIS in an "officer exchange" type of deal. You may notice that while Gibbs, et al are referred to as "agent" or "special agent", Ziva is referred to by her Mossad title of "officer".
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