Fireworks glossary

How to read a product page

• 1.3G (display fireworks)

  Safety & Rules

  The shipping class for professional display fireworks, the big shells used in public shows. They require federal licensing (ATF) and trained operators, and are not sold to consumers.

• 1.4G (consumer fireworks)

  Safety & Rules

  The U.S. shipping class for consumer fireworks, the kind sold at retail stands and stores. You may see it printed as "UN0336, Fireworks, 1.4G" on cases. Everything we sell is consumer 1.4G.

• 200 gram cake

  Buying & Specs

  Store and industry shorthand for a smaller multi-shot cake, roughly the lower size class of cakes. Expect lower height, smaller breaks and usually a lower price than a 500 gram cake, but often plenty of shots.

  At Delta Boom: Shop 200 gram cakes →

• 500 gram cake

  Buying & Specs

  A multi-shot aerial cake at the top of the consumer size range. Under the industry standard used for U.S. consumer fireworks, a multi-tube aerial item can hold up to 500 grams of total pyrotechnic composition, so these are the biggest, highest-flying cakes you can buy. Check your local laws.

  At Delta Boom: Shop 500 gram cakes →

• Adult supervision

  Safety & Rules

  Every firework should be handled and lit by a sober, responsible adult. Kids can enjoy the show from a safe distance, and even sparklers need an adult watching.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Aerial

  Products & Formats

  Any firework that shoots its effect up into the sky, such as cakes, roman candles, rockets, mines and artillery shells. Aerial items need the most open space and the widest safety distance.

• Age 18+

  Safety & Rules

  Consumer fireworks are sold only to adults 18 and older.

• Aluminum

  Effects & Colors

  A metal powder used to make bright white and silver sparks, flashes and glitter effects. Coarser flakes give longer sparks.

• Angle fire

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A cake whose tubes are set at angles so the shots fire in different directions instead of straight up. Also called fan fire. It spreads the show wider across the sky.

• Artillery shell

  Products & Formats

  A consumer "reloadable" shell you drop into a launch tube and light one at a time. Each shell lifts high and breaks into a big burst, the closest thing to a professional show for consumers.

  At Delta Boom: Shop artillery shells →

• Assortment

  Buying & Specs

  A pack or box with a mix of different fireworks, an easy way to get variety in one buy.

  At Delta Boom: Shop bundle deals →

• ATF

  Safety & Rules

  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It regulates explosives and display (1.3G) fireworks. Consumer 1.4G fireworks are mainly regulated by the CPSC and DOT.

• Ball shell

  Shells & Components

  A round shell. It usually gives the most even, symmetrical round breaks.

• Bang

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A loud, sharp boom. On a product page, "bangs" or "reports" means the item makes noise as well as color.

• Barium

  Effects & Colors

  The chemical behind most green colors in fireworks.

• Barrage

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A rapid stream of shots fired one right after another, often from a big multi-shot cake.

• Black powder

  Shells & Components

  The classic pyrotechnic mix of saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur. It is used for lift charges, fuses and many burst charges.

• Blind

  Safety & Rules

  A shell or shot that lifts but fails to burst. Treat the area as live and do not go looking for it until the show is over and it has had time to cool; then soak it.

• Bottle rocket

  Products & Formats

  A small rocket on a thin stick. Many cities and states restrict or ban them, so check your local laws.

• Break

  Effects & Colors

  The moment a shell or shot bursts in the sky, and the pattern it makes. "Red/green breaks" means the bursts are red and green.

• Brocade

  Effects & Colors

  A glittering, lacy effect, usually gold or silver, that streams out and hangs a little longer than a plain peony.

• Bucket of water

  Safety & Rules

  Keep a full bucket and a hose ready before you start. Use it to soak spent fireworks and duds.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Bundle

  Buying & Specs

  A ready-made package of items at one price. A good value if you want a whole show without picking each item.

  At Delta Boom: Shop bundle deals →

• Burst

  Effects & Colors

  The explosion of a shell in the air that throws out its stars and makes the visible effect.

• Burst charge

  Shells & Components

  The small charge inside a shell that breaks it open in the sky and spreads the stars.

• Burst height

  Buying & Specs

  How high a shell or shot breaks open. Bigger items break higher and spread wider.

• Buzzing bees

  Effects & Colors

  Small spinning pieces that zip around making a buzzing sound. Also called fish when they swim through the sky.

• Cake

  Products & Formats

  A block of tubes fused together so that lighting one fuse fires many shots in a row. Also called a repeater or multi-shot. Cakes are the backbone of most backyard shows.

  At Delta Boom: Shop 500 gram cakes →

• Calcium

  Effects & Colors

  Calcium salts are used to make orange colors.

• Canister shell

  Shells & Components

  A cylinder-shaped shell. Many consumer artillery shells are canister style, and they can hold more varied effects than round shells.

• Cannon fuse

  Shells & Components

  Another name for green visco-style safety fuse, the common fuse on consumer fireworks.

• Case / pack

  Buying & Specs

  How many units come in a shipping case, written like 4/1 (4 pieces per case) or 12/12 (12 inner packs of 12).

• Chrysanthemum

  Effects & Colors

  A round burst whose stars leave visible trails, like the petals of a mum. It is like a peony but with tails.

• Coconut

  Effects & Colors

  A palm-like burst with thick, heavy branches that droop like a coconut tree.

• Color changing

  Effects & Colors

  Stars that change from one color to another as they burn, like red to green.

• Comet

  Effects & Colors

  A single large star that leaves a long, bright tail as it climbs.

• Cone fountain

  Products & Formats

  A cone-shaped ground fountain that sprays sparks upward. Set it on a flat, hard surface.

  At Delta Boom: Shop fountains →

• Copper

  Effects & Colors

  Copper compounds make blue, the hardest color to get bright in fireworks.

• CPSC

  Safety & Rules

  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It sets federal safety rules for consumer fireworks, such as fuse burn time and limits on how much noise-making powder an item can hold.

• Crackle / crackling

  Fire Types & Sounds

  Tiny pops that sound like frying bacon or popcorn, often with small flashes. Crackling effects are very popular.

• Crossette

  Effects & Colors

  A star that splits into four or more pieces that shoot out in a cross pattern.

• Dahlia

  Effects & Colors

  A burst with fewer, larger stars that leave thick tails, like the petals of a dahlia flower.

• Daytime item

  Products & Formats

  A firework meant to be seen in daylight, usually colored smoke or loud reports instead of light.

  At Delta Boom: Shop smoke →

• Delivery appointment

  Buying & Specs

  We deliver by appointment with a $150 minimum, or you can pick up in Byhalia, MS.

  At Delta Boom: Delivery & pickup →

• Display fireworks

  Safety & Rules

  Professional fireworks (1.3G) used in public shows. They need licenses and trained shooters and are not sold to the public.

• DOT

  Safety & Rules

  The U.S. Department of Transportation. It classifies fireworks for shipping (1.4G consumer, 1.3G display) and must approve each item before it can be shipped.

• Dry grass

  Safety & Rules

  Dry grass and leaves catch fire easily. Water the area or shoot from a driveway or bare ground.

• Dud

  Safety & Rules

  A firework that doesn't go off. Never relight it or look into it. Wait at least 20 minutes, then soak it in water before throwing it away.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Duration

  Buying & Specs

  How long an item fires from the first shot to the last, in seconds. Longer duration makes a show last longer for your money.

  At Delta Boom: Build Your Show →

• Eye protection

  Safety & Rules

  Safety glasses for whoever is lighting. Sparks and debris can fly.

• Fallout area

  Safety & Rules

  The ground under and around the effect where spent pieces and sparks come down. Keep people, cars and anything that can burn out of it.

• Fan fire / fanned

  Fire Types & Sounds

  Tubes set in a fan shape so shots spray across the sky in a V or W pattern.

• Finale

  Fire Types & Sounds

  The big ending, either a final burst of shots in a cake or your last and biggest items of the night.

  At Delta Boom: Build Your Show →

• Firecracker

  Products & Formats

  A small paper tube that makes a bang. Under federal rules a consumer firecracker can hold no more than 50 milligrams of noise-making powder. They often come in strings or rolls.

  At Delta Boom: Shop firecrackers →

• Fish

  Effects & Colors

  Small pieces that wiggle through the sky like swimming fish, often with a buzzing sound.

• Flash powder

  Shells & Components

  A fast-burning mix that makes the loud bang in reports and firecrackers. Federal rules limit how much a consumer item can hold.

• Fountain

  Products & Formats

  A ground item that sprays sparks and color upward without launching anything. Great for kids to watch and for opening a show.

  At Delta Boom: Shop fountains →

• Fuse

  Shells & Components

  The cord you light. Consumer fuses must burn for a few seconds before ignition so you have time to step away. Light at the very tip, then walk away.

• Glitter

  Effects & Colors

  A flickering, twinkling spark effect, often gold or silver.

• Gram weight

  Buying & Specs

  The amount of pyrotechnic composition in an item, which is a rough guide to its size and power. The 200 gram and 500 gram labels on cakes come from this.

• Grand finale

  Fire Types & Sounds

  The final, biggest part of a show where many shots fire at once or in a fast barrage.

• Ground bloom flower

  Products & Formats

  A small ground spinner that whirls on the ground with colored sparks, opening like a flower.

  At Delta Boom: Shop ground spinners →

• Ground effect

  Products & Formats

  Anything that happens at ground level: fountains, spinners and smoke.

  At Delta Boom: Shop fountains →

• Ground item

  Products & Formats

  A firework that stays on the ground, like fountains, spinners, smoke and snakes. A good choice when you have less space.

• Hang fire

  Safety & Rules

  A firework whose fuse burns but then seems to stop, and may still go off late. Treat it as live and stay back.

• Heart / shape

  Effects & Colors

  A burst whose stars form a picture, like a heart, smiley face, star or ring. Shapes can look different depending on where you stand.

• Height

  Buying & Specs

  How high the effects go. Bigger cakes and artillery shells generally fly higher and need more open space.

• Helicopter

  Products & Formats

  A small spinning item that lifts off the ground and flies upward while spinning and throwing sparks.

  At Delta Boom: Shop novelties →

• Horsetail

  Effects & Colors

  A burst whose stars fall heavily straight down, like a horse's tail.

• Inner pack

  Buying & Specs

  The smaller pack inside a case, for example a 12-pack inside a case of 12 packs.

• Item number

  Buying & Specs

  The product code shown on each product page and on the packaging. It's the quickest way to ask us about an item or find its video.

• Kamuro

  Effects & Colors

  A Japanese word for a dense, glittering gold or silver burst that hangs and slowly falls, like a giant willow.

• Launch tube

  Shells & Components

  The tube that holds and aims a shell. Keep it upright and secured.

• Level, stable surface

  Safety & Rules

  Set cakes, fountains and tubes on flat, hard ground (a board works on grass) so they can't tip over while firing.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Lift charge

  Shells & Components

  The black powder at the bottom of a tube or shell that launches it into the air.

• Lithium

  Effects & Colors

  A chemical used to make red and crimson colors.

• Local laws

  Safety & Rules

  Cities, counties and states set their own rules on what you can buy, when and where you can shoot. Always check before your show.

• Loud

  Fire Types & Sounds

  Items labeled loud have strong reports or bangs. Think about pets and neighbors.

• Magnesium

  Effects & Colors

  A metal that burns very bright white and helps make colors stronger.

• Mine

  Products & Formats

  A tube that throws all its stars up at once from ground level, making a big spray of color shooting upward like a fountain in the sky.

• Mines and shells cake

  Products & Formats

  A cake whose shots alternate between mines (spray from the ground) and shells (breaking in the air).

• Misfire

  Safety & Rules

  Any firework that does not work as expected. Stay back, never relight it, wait, and soak it in water.

• Missile

  Products & Formats

  A small rocket-style item, often in a rack, that whistles or flies up and breaks. Many fire in volleys.

  At Delta Boom: Shop sky rockets →

• Mortar

  Shells & Components

  The launch tube used for artillery shells. Keep it upright on a stable base and never lean over it.

  At Delta Boom: Shop artillery shells →

• Mortar rack

  Shells & Components

  A frame that holds tubes upright and steady.

• Multi-shot

  Products & Formats

  Any item that fires more than one shot from one fuse, mainly cakes.

• NEC (net explosive content)

  Buying & Specs

  The total weight of pyrotechnic composition inside an item, not counting packaging, tubes or cardboard. It's printed on many cases and is a useful way to compare items.

• Never relight

  Safety & Rules

  If an item doesn't go off, never try to light it again. Wait at least 20 minutes and soak it in water.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Nishiki

  Effects & Colors

  A Japanese term for a brocade-style burst with glittering gold trails, often called nishiki kamuro.

• Noise level

  Fire Types & Sounds

  How loud an item is. Look for words like crackling, bangs or reports. Quiet items focus on color and sparkles.

• Novelty

  Products & Formats

  Small fun items like snakes, poppers, smoke balls, tanks and spinners. Great for kids watching from a safe distance.

  At Delta Boom: Shop novelties →

• Palm

  Effects & Colors

  A burst with a few thick, bright branches that look like a palm tree. Often has a rising tail as the trunk.

• Parachute

  Products & Formats

  An item that releases a small parachute that floats down, sometimes with a flare or a flag.

• Pearl

  Effects & Colors

  Bright, round stars with no tails that look like a string of pearls.

• Peony

  Effects & Colors

  The most common burst: a round sphere of colored stars with no tails, named after the flower.

• Pistil

  Effects & Colors

  A burst with a smaller center ring of a different color inside the main break, like the center of a flower.

• Pop / snapper

  Products & Formats

  Tiny paper twists you throw on the ground to make a snap. They aren't lit.

  At Delta Boom: Shop novelties →

• Pyrotechnic

  Shells & Components

  Anything that makes heat, light, sound, smoke or motion by burning a chemical mix. Fireworks are pyrotechnics.

• Pyrotechnician

  Safety & Rules

  A trained, licensed person who sets up and fires professional displays.

• Quick match

  Shells & Components

  A very fast-burning fuse used in professional displays and inside some cakes to link tubes. It is not something consumers should handle loose.

• Quiet

  Fire Types & Sounds

  Items with little or no bang that focus on color, sparkle and smoke, good for pets and neighbors.

• Reloadable shell kit

  Products & Formats

  A box of artillery shells with one or more launch tubes. You load one shell at a time. Consumer reloadable shells are limited to 60 grams of composition per shell.

  At Delta Boom: Shop artillery shells →

• Repeater

  Products & Formats

  Another word for a cake: one fuse fires many shots in a row.

  At Delta Boom: Shop 200 gram cakes →

• Report

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A loud bang made by a firework. Consumer items have federal limits on noise powder.

• Ring

  Effects & Colors

  A burst whose stars form a circle in the sky.

• Rocket tube

  Shells & Components

  A tube or stand used to hold rockets upright and pointed away from people.

• Roman candle

  Products & Formats

  A single long tube that shoots colored balls or effects one at a time into the sky. Push it into the ground or secure it. Never hold it.

  At Delta Boom: Shop roman candles →

• Safety distance

  Safety & Rules

  How far spectators should stand back. Follow the label, and give big aerial items much more room than ground items.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Salvo

  Fire Types & Sounds

  Several shots fired at the same moment.

• Shell

  Shells & Components

  A package of stars and a burst charge that is launched into the sky and breaks open. It can be round (ball shell) or cylinder (canister shell).

• Shot

  Buying & Specs

  One firing from one tube. A 25-shot cake fires 25 times.

• Shot count

  Buying & Specs

  The total number of shots in an item. More shots usually means a longer show, but bigger shots can be worth more than many small ones.

• Show plan

  Buying & Specs

  A list of items in the order you'll light them, opening, build-up and finale. Our Build Your Show page makes one for your budget.

  At Delta Boom: Build Your Show →

• Sky rocket

  Products & Formats

  A rocket on a stick that flies up and bursts. Launch from a rocket tube or bottle pointed away from people.

  At Delta Boom: Shop sky rockets →

• Smoke ball

  Products & Formats

  A small item that puts out a cloud of colored smoke. Use it outdoors and stay out of the smoke.

  At Delta Boom: Shop smoke →

• Snake

  Products & Formats

  A small tablet that grows a long, black ash "snake" when lit.

  At Delta Boom: Shop novelties →

• Soak duds

  Safety & Rules

  Put duds and spent items in a bucket of water for a while before throwing them away.

  At Delta Boom: Safety tips →

• Sodium

  Effects & Colors

  Sodium makes yellow colors, and is also why too much of it can wash other colors out.

• Sparkler

  Products & Formats

  A hand-held wire stick coated in composition that throws bright sparks. The wire gets very hot, so supervise kids, hold it at arm's length and drop used ones in water.

  At Delta Boom: Shop sparklers →

• Spider

  Effects & Colors

  A burst of long, thin, fast-moving gold or silver trails that spread out like spider legs.

• Spinner

  Products & Formats

  A ground item that spins in place, throwing a circle of sparks.

  At Delta Boom: Shop ground spinners →

• Stars

  Shells & Components

  The small pellets of colored composition inside a shell or tube. They make the colored lights you see.

• Straight fire

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A cake whose tubes all point straight up, so every shot goes to the same spot.

• Strobe

  Effects & Colors

  Stars that blink on and off rapidly, like flashing lights.

• Strontium

  Effects & Colors

  The chemical behind most red colors in fireworks.

• Tail / tails

  Effects & Colors

  The spark trail a shot leaves as it rises or as its stars travel. "Gold tails" means you'll see a gold trail going up.

• Titanium

  Effects & Colors

  A metal that makes bright, white-silver sparks and hard, sharp reports.

• Tourbillon

  Effects & Colors

  A spinning star that climbs or swirls across the sky in a spiral with a tail.

• UN0336

  Safety & Rules

  The United Nations shipping code for 1.4G consumer fireworks, printed on shipping cases.

• Video

  Buying & Specs

  Most of our product pages have a video so you can see the item fire before you buy.

  At Delta Boom: Video Wall →

• Visco fuse

  Shells & Components

  The common green, waterproof safety fuse on consumer fireworks. It burns at a steady rate so you have time to back away.

• Waterfall

  Effects & Colors

  A long, glittering curtain of sparks that pours down. It can be a hanging burst in the air or a ground effect.

• Wheel

  Products & Formats

  A spinning item that is pinned to a post and turns while throwing sparks.

• Whistle

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A shrill whistling sound some items make as they fly, from a special whistle composition.

• Willow

  Effects & Colors

  A burst with long gold or silver trails that hang and droop slowly, like a weeping willow tree.

• Wind

  Safety & Rules

  Wind carries sparks and fallout. Don't shoot in strong wind and keep the audience upwind.

• Z-cake

  Fire Types & Sounds

  A cake whose shots zig-zag back and forth across the sky in a Z pattern.