James Whitaker
If you've read a few escort profiles, you've seen lines that look like code: BBBJ, CIM, DATY, MSOG, no COF. Nobody explains this shorthand anywhere. It started on review boards twenty years ago, spread to every directory in the English-speaking world, and now people use it as if everyone got a dictionary at the door.
This page is that dictionary. Every term below has a plain definition and a note on what it actually tells you about a provider's boundaries. Where the TrystHub catalogue has a filter for something, the term links straight to it.
Why the shorthand exists at all
Two reasons, and both still apply in 2026.
The first is practical. A profile has limited space and a long list of preferences to get across. Acronyms squeeze that down.
The second is legal caution. In the United States, FOSTA-SESTA made platforms liable for content that reads as an explicit offer of sexual services for money. Abbreviations are a hedge: vague enough to deny, specific enough that the right reader gets it. That's why a profile full of acronyms is usually American, and why European listings, especially German ones under ProstSchG, are much more direct.
Oral and finish acronyms
This is the biggest group, and the one most people are actually trying to decode.
| Term | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BBBJ | Bareback blowjob – oral without a condom | The most common acronym in US listings. Carries real STI risk; see the dedicated page. |
| BBJ / CBJ | Bareback vs covered blowjob | CBJ is the barrier version. Some providers offer only CBJ and say so plainly. |
| CIM | Completion in mouth | Always a separate agreement from BBBJ. Never assume one means the other. |
| CIM/S | CIM with swallow | Another step further. Often listed as a premium extra. |
| COF / CIF | Completion on face / in face | Same act, two spellings. Often listed as an alternative when CIM is a no. |
| COB | Completion on body | The most commonly offered of the finish options. |
| DATY | Dining at the Y – oral performed on a woman | Reciprocal oral. Some providers offer it, many don't. |
| DATO | The anal equivalent of DATY | Much rarer, usually a fetish-specific listing. |
Session structure and pacing
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MSOG | Multiple shots on goal – more than one finish within the booked hour |
| HHR / HH | Half-hour booking |
| FS | Full service |
| Multi-hour | Bookings of two hours or more, usually at a discounted hourly rate |
| OTC / Social | Out-of-town-call or a non-intimate social booking such as a dinner date |
Experience style
These describe the tone, not a menu of acts. That's exactly why they confuse so many people.
- GFE – girlfriend experience. Warmth, conversation, no rush. Browse GFE providers.
- PSE – porn star experience. More intense, more of a performance.
- Companionship – the umbrella term most directories use, covering everything from dinner dates to travel bookings.
None of the three is a fixed list. We explained where the confusion comes from in PSE vs GFE vs Companionship.
Logistics and booking terms
- Incall – you go to the provider's place. Outcall – they come to you. The choice affects price, privacy and logistics more than most first-time clients expect. Full breakdown in Incall vs Outcall.
- Screening – the checks a provider does on you before agreeing to meet. Normal, expected, and with most experienced providers not up for negotiation.
- Deposit – an advance payment, usually 20–30% of the rate. Standard for outcalls and touring providers, and also the most common way scams happen.
- Touring – a provider visiting a city for a while, usually announced a week or two ahead.
- Duo – a booking with two providers. Ask if they've worked together before. A real duo and two people who met that afternoon are different experiences.
- Provider – the standard neutral word for an escort. Hobbyist – an older review-board word for a regular client, mostly out of date now.
Terms worth being careful about
Two acronyms come up in searches often enough that we should name them directly.
PNP means party-and-play, a booking that involves drug use. It's illegal, it throws out any safety framework you thought you had, and no reputable directory will host it. If you see it, don't trust that listing.
Taboo is a catch-all that means whatever that provider decides it means, nothing more. It's not a defined service. If a listing uses it, ask what they actually mean before you assume anything.
How to use any of this in practice
Three rules will save you most of the awkward moments.
Nothing on a profile is automatic. A listed service means the provider is open to talking about it, not that it's included by default. Confirm in advance, politely, once.
Terms aren't standardised. The same acronym can mean slightly different things to two providers in the same city. When it matters, use the full phrase and not the abbreviation.
If it's missing, that's a boundary. If something isn't listed, take it as a no, not as an invitation to ask twice. The client etiquette guide covers the rest of the ground rules.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to use acronyms when I message a provider?
No, and most providers would prefer you didn't. Plain language sounds more thoughtful and leaves less room for misunderstanding. The shorthand is for listings, not for conversation.
Why do some directories ban this terminology?
Platforms under US law restrict anything that reads as an explicit offer of sexual services for money. That's a FOSTA-SESTA compliance decision, not a judgement about the acts themselves.
Are these terms the same in the UK, Canada and Germany?
Roughly, in English-language listings. German directories are much more direct and have their own vocabulary. Sex work there is a regulated profession, so the legal pressure to talk in code just isn't there.
What if a listing uses an acronym that is not here?
Ask. A provider explaining their own terms is a normal conversation, and if they don't want to explain, that tells you something too.
This glossary is informational. TrystHub is a directory for legal companionship services; what any two adults agree to privately is their own business, and nothing here should be read as an offer.
