Even More Surfer Talk
105 comments
"Who's got priority?"
Here we are with the second part of our surfing slang feature. Pick up the lingo here and be able to blend in with surfers everywhere. (Well, know what on earth they're talking about anyway)
Thanks to everyone who's commented and emailed us with the latest slang. We're including new ones all the time so please keep them coming!
Even More Surfer Slang
Narrabeen
Narrabeen is one of a whole host of quality surf spots on Sydney's north shore. You lucky, lucky Aussies!
New School
The term given to trick surfing — airs, shove-its, etc.
Noodled / Noodle Arms
Being exhausted or having tired arms.
Noah
Another term for shark.
Nose
The pointy bit of the surfboard; the bit that points away from you when you are paddling and riding.
Ocean
Same thing as a sea, only bigger.
Offshore
This is when the wind at a surf break is blowing off the shore ;-), It makes for ideal surfing conditions.
Onshore
This is when the wind is blowing towards the land, spoiling the waves. Always remember; offshore good, onshore bad!
Out Back / OTB
Beyond the breaking waves. "See you out back".
Outside
The area beyond the line-up. You'll sometimes hear surfers shout "Outside!" as a warning to other surfers that a larger than usual wave is approaching and will be breaking further out that normal.
Pipeline - going off! Photo courtesy: Hawaiian Eye
Over the Falls
A wipeout where a surfer wipes out and either free-falls down the face of the wave or gets sucked up, over and back down by the circular breaking motion of the wave.
Overhead
Waves that are bigger that a surfer when standing up.
Paddlepuss
Someone who stays and plays in the whitewater close to the beach.
Party Wave
A wave surfed by several people at once.
Perl / Pearl
This is a common term describing when a person buries the nose of their surfboard in the wave and goes "over the falls." It's often referred to by the actual surfer as "@#%%@#@!"
Pipeline
This is the classic Hawaiian wave — amazing, barreling, and mean (see the pipeline surf spot map). It's one of the most famous and most photographed waves there is. If you have just read surfing lesson one - catching waves and are ready to go out and try surfing for the first time, then Pipeline is probably the last place on the planet you want to be.
Pitted
Caught a tube, shacked.
Pivot Turn
A turn where the tail of the surfboard remains almost stationary while the rest of the board swings round.
Pocket / In the Pocket
The pocket is the most powerful part of the wave, just ahead of where the wave is breaking.
Pop-Out
A mass produced surfboard made by machine.
Pop Up
Describes the move a surfer makes to go from lying on the surfboard, into the standing position to ride a wave.
Priority
Which surfer has the right of way, fully explained here.
Pumping
A decent swell where the waves are nice and powerful; also used to describe a surfer trying to generate speed.
Quiksilver
Pretty much everyone, surfers and non-surfers alike, will already know about Quiksilver. They're one of the largest manufacturers of surfing equipment and surf clothing on the planet. The lads have done well from their boardshort beginning on Torquay — good on ya! (See Quiksilver boardshorts in the store.)
Quiver
A surfer's collection of different surfboards. (I've heard people say it's the place where they keep their boards but not sure about that. Thanks go to Kris Carré who suggested "quiver" as an entry.)
Radical / Rad
High performance or risk taking surfing, awesome or impressive.
Rag Dolled
See washing machine, getting tossed around by a wave like you're a rag doll .
Rail
Rails are the sides of your surfboard, running from nose to tail and back again. More details can be found on the surfboard rail page.
Rail Bang
To fall off and take the surfboard between the legs (Ouch!).
Rail to Rail
Keeping the surfboard constantly moving on the wave, from one rail of the surfboard to the other. This type of surfing helps keep up speed and get the most out of the wave.
Raked Over
To be hammered by incoming waves while paddling out.
Reef Tax
Cuts and grazes etc. from hitting the reef or rocks.
Reform
Where a wave that has already broken starts to build back up into a surfable wave.
Regular / Regular Footed
Surfing with your left foot forward.
Reo / Re-entry
A surfing manoeuvre which involves going from the bottom of the wave up towards the lip (top) of the wave then redirecting back down the face of the wave.
Rip / Riptide
A riptide is a strong current heading out to sea. It can be dangerous for surfers and swimmers alike. Check out the waves section to find out more details.
Rock Dance
Getting into or out of the surf over rocks.
Rocker
The bottom curve of a surfboard.
Roller
Another word for a top turn.
Roller Coaster
An enjoyable manoeuvre on 8 foot waves with a single fin gun, without a leash. To set up the manoeuvre it the days of old a long, smooth, deep bottom turn and then straight up the face to towards the lip as the you are almost upsidedown with the board pointing straight up. At the lip you are weightless as the lip pushes the board under your feet again as you become upright. — From here another bottom turn or the end of the ride if the wave dumps a closeout.
As I remember well it was always great to achieve this because if you didn't complete it was a long cold swim in on winter waves at Rincon. A "roller coaster", a true accomplishment in bigger winter waves without a leash, —as the "kook leash" ;-) wasn't invented in those days. - "Rickard, A Ventura local"
Santanas
Describing 'Devil Winds' that are warm brisk offshore winds off the California coast. This term was used extensively by SoCal surfers during the 60s.
SAS
See Surfers Against Sewage.
Shacked
Getting completely barreled, riding a phat tube.
Shaka
A common hand signal used by surfers, with an extended thumb and little finger. Hang loose!
Shoobie
Early 20th century tourists that would travel to the shore towns by train carrying their lunches in Shoe Boxes (shoobies).
Shootin' the Curls
Slang meaning to go surfing.
Shoulder
The surfable part of the wave.
Shoulder Hop
Dropping in on a surfer who is already up and riding.
Shove-it
A shove-it is a manoeuver where the rider shoves the surfboard round underneath the feet, 180 or 360 degrees. It's a good trick if you can do it.
Shred
Aggressive surfing moves on a wave with resulting spray over the backside visible to those on the outside. (You might have to research further slang to decipher this explanation)
Shubie
Someone who buys surf gear and clothing but does not surf. (see "Shoobie")
Sick
A term used to describe when someone does something impressive, e.g. "that was a sick air" — not just because you have swallowed too much sea water.
Single Fin
A surfboard with a single centre fin.
Sketchy
The opposite of surfing smoothly with style.
Skeg
Sternward extension of the keel, or a single center fin on surf board.
Slash
A rapid turn off the top of the wave, hopefully throwing loads of spray off the top.
Slater, Kelly
He's famous for being in Baywatch and his alleged dalliance with Pamela Anderson. Oh yes, we've heard that he's a pretty tidy surfer as well.
Slotted
Correctly positioned in a tube.
Snake / Snaking
Waves should be shared, but snakes take it all. To snake is to drop in out of turn.
Spit
Where spray blows out of the end of a barrel. Tube spit.
Sponger
A bodyboarder.
Springsuit
A short legged wetsuit (may have long or short arms). See all wetsuit types here.
Stacking
Waves are getting bigger.
Steamer
Another type of surfing wetsuit.
Steamer Lane
This is a famous Northern California surf spot.
Step Into Liquid
This is what happens when you go walking in puddles. It's also the the name of a surf video by surf vid guru Dana Brown. Check it out at our video store: Step Into Liquid.
Stick
Surfer slang for a surfboard.
Stoked
Very happy.
Stringer
This is the bit of wood that runs up through the length of your surfboard. (It's there if you have a fibreglass one and not one that you have fashioned out of an old ironing board!) More info is available on the surfboard information page.
Sucking Dry
Where breaking waves cause all the water to be drawn off the sea bed, leaving it exposed.
Surfers Against Sewage
SAS is an organisation campaigning for clean water for all. These guys are incredibly high profile and lobby endlessly to ensure all water users are surfing in clean water. Check them out at www.sas.org.uk and become a member. Everyone should become a member.
Surfers Ear
Surfers ear, or auditory exostosis, is an abnormal bone growth within the ear canal. Cold water surfers are particularly susceptible and should look at some form of prevention such as ear plugs.
Surfers Eye
Surfers eye is the slang term for Pterygiums, a medical issue which manifests itself as a clear, white, or pinkish membrane that grows over the inside corner of one or both eyes.
Surfers Knots
Soft-tissue swellings on the dorsum of the foot and just below the knee, as a result of kneeling for long periods of time on the surfboard while waiting for a wave.
SUP
Stand up paddleboard / paddleboarding.
Swallow Tail
You'll really have to go and read up on the surfboard tail shapes section. I can't be explaining everything over again.
Swell
Swell or groundswell refers to solid, real waves. (As apposed to rubbish wind chop) Why not read more on how waves are made.
Switch Stance
Riding the surfboard standing the other way round, i.e. if you're regular footed you would be surfing goofy.
Barrel, Tube, Tubular, Clean, Offshore, Spray - take your pick. Photo courtesy: Hang11
Tail
This is the bit of the surfboard at the opposite end to the nose. Read more about surfboard tail shapes. For more info on the other bits of the surfboard, have a look at the surfboard section.
Tailslide
The tailslide is a move where the tail of the board slides across the lip of the wave.
Thundoars
Island slang for (voice of thundering waters) meaning large waves.
Tow In
Catching big waves with the aid of a Jet ski.
Thruster
Popular name for a tri-fin shortboard.
Traction Pad
A traction pad is a permanent replacement for surf wax, stuck directly to the surfboard. It is normally seen placed just in front of the leash plug, providing grip for back foot. Full length grip is available, but is not seen so often. You might find it referred to as deck grip, traction, or a riser pad.
Trim
Keeping the surfboard in a straight line at the optimum angle and cruising down the line.
Tube
The tube is public transportation in London. Oh, you mean Tube! The tube is where the wave is hollow where it's breaking. For some surfers it's the be all of surfing. It's sometimes called a barrel, keg, or pit.
Tubular
Describes hollow, barreling waves.
Turtle Roll
This is a technique for getting a longboard out though a breaking wave. (As apposed to duck diving for a shortboarder). See our how to turtle roll article for more info.
Twin Fin
A surfboard with two fins.
Ulluwatu
Ulluwatu is one of a large number of quality Indonesian surf breaks.
Underwater
You are not seriously looking for an explanation of this are you?
Vanuatu
Vanuatu is a smallish island in the Pacific, complete with numerous great waves. If you are planning a tropical surfing trip, you could do worse!
Wahine
A female surfer.
Wax
It smells nice, gets stuck in your chest hair (not you ladies!), and is used to stop your feet slipping off your board. Also, surf wax can be used as to repair almost anything — leaky roof, rusty zip... you name it.
Washing Machine
Getting spun around and around underwater by a wave.
Wetsuit
It's made of neoprene, keeps out the cold, and makes you look like a seal. Check out the wetsuit section for more information.
Whitewater
The broken, turbulent part of a wave.
Wipe-out
Falling off your board is referred to as a wipe-out. Other terms are donut, mullering, eating it, taking a pounding, or pretty much anything else you would like.
Worked
To "get worked" is to wipe out and get thrown about while being held under by the wave.
(e)Xtreme
Yes, you guessed — we couldn't think of a surfing word truly beginning with "X." Its definition is exactly the same as in the dictionary. Tow in surfing is the latest type of extreme surfing.
Xtrak
Xtrak is one of the leading manufacturers of surfboard traction pads. We've finally got a proper "X!!"
Yallingup
Surf spot in Western Australia. (Now we are really struggling!)
Yew
Shout out out when very excited. Fully sick yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! When a big wave is spotted or someone got a gnarly wave
Z
(Thanks to those who have sent us "Z" letters. We were struggling for a while but now the section is looking pretty rosy).
Zamba, Frieda
Born October 24, 1965, Freida Zamba was Florida's first four-time world champ.
Zimzala
A person with a free mind. Who doesn't have a care in the world. Usually a surfer, or a person who goes to the beach a lot.
Zipperless
This is often considered the "holy grail" of wetsuits, as zippers, no matter how tightly made, will always let water through. Invented in '89 by Body Glove, the first zipperless wetsuits were actually way too stiff for surfers to use. In '93, the Japanese came out with another model that was still too stiff, but by '95, most wetsuit companies offered a high end zipperless suit. Advantages include flexibility and warmth; disadvantages include short lifespan (due to super stretchy rubber) and difficult entry/exit.
Zogs (Mr.) Sex Wax
Zogs is a popular brand of surf wax found wherever there are surfers. Get some surf wax here.
Zonal
This weather pattern term means that all of the storm activity in one particular region is moving in a consistent west-to-east pattern along the same latitude. While this can happen anywhere in the world, it's usually associated with the Southern Ocean (around Antarctica) and is caused by large ridges of high pressure in the mid-latitudes, "pancaking" the active storm track into the upper latitudes. Since most of the swell energy in these storms will only travel the direction the fetch is pointed, it means that all of the swell is also going west-to-east. For most of the eastern half of the Pacific (California, Baja, Mainland Mexicco, and Central America), zonal activity in the SPAC is bad for swell production. It's good for an area in its path like Chile, but bad for the rest of us.
Zulu
This is the same as GMT or Greenwich Mean Time. Zulu time is used on weather charts, which may display 12Z for 1200 GMT or 00Z for 0000 GMT. Weather charts play an important part in predicting surf.
That's it for the surfing talk page. If anyone actually read this page and found it interesting and informative (or even remotely amusing at times) then we'd be interested in knowing — e-mail us or comment here to let us know.
I found this page to be of great interest. It is a well set out document full of valuable information not necessarily known to the non surfing community. Congratulations
As a non surfer, I'm trying to work out a particular lyric in a song by the fantastic Baggy's called "My big Gun Board". In the 3rd verse they sing "And before I (space space) I got to get some speed, And my big Gun board gives me all that I need". If someone can fill the spaces I'd be grateful.
PS At the risk of being a smart arse, in your glossary of surfing terms you forgot "Surfer(ing) knots.
I'd not come across surfer's knots before, I'll add it to the list.
Thanks for the feedback, sorry I can't help you out with the lyric - try asking over on the forum.
Mr Zogs Sex Wax is also good for waxing then polishing rosewood fretboards on guitars, so you can play surf music even faster
Great site. Restoring a 60vw dune buggy "mini-T" and found great input into personalized license plate. Love the hang-11.
Some funny stuff. I like that you could define ocean with a straight face.
Sick! Nice job on this... You guys need to add "shacked" - riding a phat tube
you forgot priority. you talk about it when you talk about the drop in but you never explain what it is.
We have a whole article about wave priority. Check it out.
It should probably be mentioned in this list also.
Another term for bodyboarders:
"speedbumps"
Never surfed but used your terms for this.
Amped
I was new schooling at Narrabeen
and everything I did was sick.
Then I tried to shove-it hard
and that was my last trick.
As I got worked, I saw the men in gray
coming for me in crowds.
Now I
you do mention xtrack but you forgot to list "trackpad" or "traction pad"
You're right, no traction pad. Better get that added. Thanks.
I am making a crocheted and embroidered hat for a toddler and needed a good word to discribe the lil' octopuss surfin the white water of the wave. I decided on Paddlepuss... its perfect. :) Thanks for the help
zzzzz...what the older surfers do after finally making it out to the lineup...how many times I've gotten out there, only to find I'm ready for a nap, so I kind of sit there for a while, pretending I'm waiting for "my" wave....
Ok, I'm writing a story using the POV of a girl who has been surfing her whole life. This really helps me with some of the lingo she can use!!!!
no spit or froth??
I see tailslide and tailside. Do they both mean the same or is one term not correct?
Tailslide is the correct term. Tailside is probably a typo.
This page is very helpful as I have just moved to Hawaii..............where surfing is the National Sport!!......... Got a feeling I will be a "PaddlePuss" for sometime at least !!
I love Point Break!
i love this site! it helps me so much in learning surf terms. THANK YOU
Just wanted to say thanks for such a great resource! I'm an artist and am painting the waves I saw in New Jersey so was looking for references. Great fun watching the surfers too. :)
great site guys. you helped me heaps with my homework.( it was an personal interest project. P.I.P.) but you missed waves for W!!
what about dirty lickings? ya know, takin a gnarly wipout? im in wrightsville beach,nc and youll hear it everywhere. and competitions? what about that?(sorry, dont mean to sound like an aggro)
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback and additional surf lingo. I've updated this section with your suggestions.
Please keep them coming!
Being one I knoticed it was missing; a "grey belly", an older surfer with the big belly.
@Guest JoBo on Apr 19, 2012: Grey belly added!
U can also use rad
just noticed "shark-biscuit" is missing for bodyboarders.
pretty well covered except for you have a description for 'new school' but not 'old school'..;-)....and no description for 'soul-surfer', which often goes hand-in-hand with 'old-school' ..jus sayin
Nice list, but you missed some good ones such as rag doll and chandelier.
Term for a great surfer but one who paddles everywhere and takes all the good waves....even if you have been sitting for awhile...they just paddle right over in front of every good wave...
Awsome list, I'm opening a bar near a good surf-spot in Spain...bean-bags, hammocks,chilled live music yet awsome cocktails and drinks and food deals, so some class at least...any suggestions for a name guys, can't be like 100% surf terminology as 'the normal' people have to find it attractive as well...cheers!
still don't know what underwater means... lol jk
I didnt see pitted on there aka right in the barrel
This helped me do homework back when I was a child.
Great list. I need to find out if there is a name for someone who takes up surfing in their late 30s or 40s as a kind of midlife crisis. Any ideas? ('Kooks' isn't it exactly)
thanks geography surfing project on surfing slang really helped
Hi there! please give me explanations for the word surferama
This is for the 2nd guest person who commented: Gun- it means a surfborad used for riding big waves. ur welcome :]
hahahaha nicee bro
I found this page to be both informative and entertaining at times. Thanks dude.
How does this otherwise pretty decent glossary not have the word "Barney" in it????
Barney has now been added!
Thanks a LOT a LUMP for the glossary of terms and of phrases of terms of Surfing Slang and for explaining the definitions that it mentions of such terms and of such phrases of said terms of Surfing Slang in a manner in which we know most people can't or won't be confused by their definitions for others and even for us, too....
Trunking it: surfing on your trunks or board shorts
Dick dragger=body boarder
tombstones=beginner surfer that sits toward the back of his board causing the nose to rise up way out of the water.
Brah is pretty icconic surfer lingo too.
My most recent children's book has a chapter with a surf contest. Even though I grew up at the beach, this page has been most helpful in reminding me of surf terms I'd forgotten (and a few I'd never heard). Thanks, Kudos, Shaka, and Bonzer.
Hi try to add wahine
Does nobody remeber old school terms like "Shootin' the Curls" meaning to go surfing. that was the term we used in the 1960's for any type of surf riding. I still shoot the curls at every opportunity in Perran' on my "old school" paipo bellyboard, and No, we don't get in the way, we just ride the waves that the rest of you ignore.
Spring suit, usually worn by surfer hotties (bunnies). Basically a short sleaved and legged wet suit. Some dudes where them too, but I prefer to see them on chicks who sport the short shorts version spring suit. Surfer chicks are the best, and they rule! Surf or die Baby!
love this site
wheres yew on ya list
fully sick yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!
wheres this site from-aus?
im at school loving life
yew bra
yep im still at school and i surfed in the 60s
Include "Santanas" describing 'Devil Winds' that are warm brisk offshore winds off the California coast. This term was used extensively by SoCal surfers during the 60s.
What about Surfer's Ear (or auditory exostosis)? It's a big one for cold water surfers
Hey - What about some surfing moves: Floater, Reo/Roller, El Rollo,Layback, Snapback and also late take off, Bomb, lip, shoulder...
What about tubular? Also, I understand that an ocean is just a sea but bigger, but what is a sea? Is it just an ocean, but smaller?
what about "poser"? I know I'm old school, but poser is someone who puts on a fake attitude, either on or off the board. In the eighties, it was a massive insult.
thanks, very useful and amusing at the same time!
How about for "Z" = Zimzala ?
"a person with a free mind. Who doesn't have a care in the world. Usually a surfer, or a person who goes to the beach a lot.:
Why don't you have the term "pitted?"
chya is one that def needs to be added!!!! used alot.
what about yew! used so much nowadays. definitely a good one for Y
Hey, what is called when you have the line and you drop into a barrel and some kook tries to drop in on your line and then he sees you and pulls back which causes white water to flow down in front of you or the wave to break causing your to wipe out?
Goober = derogatory term for a longboard or a longboarder. Also "log" or "logger". Too many longboarders is "logjam".
Stacking = waves are getting bigger. Also can mean having sexual relations.
Whitewater = the broken, turbulent part of the wave that has become translational. Also know as "foam" or "soup".
Suggested addition: "reform;" as in wave reform
This says, Thanks also for the explanations in the said glossary of terms and of phrases of terms of Surfing Slang, as also mentioned earlier by me also ii years ago to the day today....
slotted
you forgot getting pitted!!!
Rag-dolled see washing machined, getting tossed around by a wave like you're a rag doll
What does 'crunchies' mean?
THUNDOARS
Island slang for (voice of thundering waters) meaning large waves
Thanks from a surfing mom hoping to get her grom to Hawaii :-) That onshore offshore bit really helped!
Many thanks. I'm writing a book where a minor character is a surfer and this was hugely helpful.
Missing "SKEG", sternward extension of the keel, or a single center fin on surf board.
Could also mention that the stringer helps you find the center of board, a useful reference while thrashing.
Didn't fully proof read, but "wipe outst" fall "off" board, not "of".
what we say is "yewww!!!" when we see a big wave or someone got a gnarly wave
So much fun, words fail me in compliments to all participants but especially to the one(s) whose brain child this site is, congratulations!
At the peeps who started the beach bar/cafe in beautiful Spain -21st Sept, 2012- what did you end up naming it and how's it workin' out? If you're still around I will visit when next time I return to Europe.
Again many thanks for the FUN site!
how about backwash? when the backwash and the incoming wave meet....pretty fun!!! note; watch endless summer movie!!!
Hey do anyone knows what "hydé" means ? my teacher is always yelling that
thanks
xx
reef tax , cuts etc from getting scragged on rocks, reef
"Shubie" should be "Shoobie". Early 20th century tourists that would travel to the shore towns by train carrying their lunches in Shoe Boxes (shoobies).
Pretty fun read! Just getting into surfing. I think the lyric mentioned above for the song Big Gun Board is " Before I kamikaze I need some speed..." Is Kamikaze a surf term too?
Thanks for the terms. I am drafting a book, and my research includes a couple of lessons (no mean feat for a 60 yr old wahine). My knowledge of surf terms was desperately incomplete, so thanks for filling me in!
Pop-Out Pocket / In the Pocket Narrabeen
Great list brahhhh i wanna know what ycw means
No chowder on this list? whaaaa? chowder - all the crap or pollution in the water. could be seaweed, sewage, red tide, foam... u get it.
Chowder is on the list, check under C :)
Curtain, e.g., "I was deep in the barrel the curtain closed on me".
Box fin, aka quad fin.
Shred: aggro moves on a wave with resulting spray over the backside visible to those on the outside
Love this! I needed some assistance in building marketing materials for a conference with a "ride the waves" theme and this was perfect!
Over The Falls
Thanks Kye - it's added
I am surprised you don't have howlie (newbie) and Yaa hoo. (An idiot)
love how u hav yalls on there, best spot ever
Nice seeing NC Representing on the Board! And Dirty Lickings, or Washing Machine, are two used in WB and OBX, NC.
For Boogies: We call them FoamHeads.
As ILM is a Uni. Town, we've a lot of kids who've never seen the Ocean "NewJacks" similar to Rookies, but their parents buy them a CI that's wayyyy too advanced, leading to gnarly injuries, and funny as Hell "Tossed" or Not Quite making it over, nor under, an oncoming wave; thus throwing their board and their body backwards, situs. Seriously hilarious.
Surf Widow = Girlfriend or wife who comes to the beach with her
surfer but does not surf and hang out on the beach instead.
"Trog" -- a non local (australia)
"Rooster Tail"... the drops of water blown off waves by strong offshore wind.
"Corduroy" ... solid line up of waves all the way to the horizon
Btw... The term as 'Pearling", was from longboards.. when the nose dived, usually on take off, and the board stopped, throwing you forward off the board to also be crunched by the breaking wave... You went Pearl diving... aka... Pearling
and...
"Gun" -- is a big wave surfboard... shortened from "Elephant Gun"
Thanks brah
Was their a saying "nose to toes"? I thought this was being said/used in the 70's.
Gardener - the first line of landlord defense as they normally stand high up and further out, and have a weapon (= paddle). Otherwise known as Standup paddler.
Ding damage to board
How about "pig dog" as in backside rail-grab tube riding?
Dude I didn’t see narly or knarly. Like obviously you never surfed the meat grinder.
"Hold" and "Release" are missing and would be helpful.