Have a gander at the dictionary we compiled for
The Raw Pineapple Trilogy

Transparent Language put together a series of flash cards with audio that are based on this dictionary. Click on the links below to play with them.

Surfer Slang Terms - Set One
Surfer Slang Terms - Set Two
Surfer Slang Terms - Set Three
Surfer Slang Terms - Set Four
Surfer Slang Terms - Set Five

NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED

ace - 1. To win, succeed, or be the best at. 2. To outdo somebody by outmaneuvering or outsmarting them. He aced me out of the wave.

aerial - Part of a maneuver where the surfer and his/her board leaves the water. This maneuver requires split second timing and is only performed by expert surfers.

aggro - (originally from the term Aggro-Aussie, because Australian surfers were known to be some of the most aggressive) To be extremely aggressive and outgoing in the water.

air - Getting airborne as the result of a good boost. After a good bottom turn with lots of speed, head up the face, off the lip, and into the sky for some good air.

air section - part of the wave that is conducive to launching airs on

AKAMAI (AH-kah-mah-ee) - someone who is very smart, sharp

ALOHA (ah-LOH-hah) - greetings/farewell

alva - After Tony Alva, one of the original and most radical of the legendary and infamous Dogtown skateboard team. To be alva means to be radical and innovative with little regard for conventional standards of safety, morality and the status quo.

amped - To be energized, excited and full of life.

AN DEN (AN dehn) - What’s up? How are you?

anglin' - Turning left and/or right on a wave. When the surfer is going with the wave in either direction right or left; at an angle rather then surfing straight.

ankle busters - small waves

avalanche - any big wave that is breaking; the white water that pours down the face of a wave.

Avalanche - outer reef surf spot on Oahu, Hawaii.

awesome - great; fantastic (also see off the Richter, off the wall, outrageous)

axed - To get creamed by a wave or anything else. If you have been axed, you have been fully done in. I got totally axed at Pipe!

AZNUTS (az-NUHTS) - That’s ridiculous; you are out of your mind.

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babelicious - To be a very attractive individual.

backdoor - 1. Taking off behind the peak on a hollow wave. 2. Name for the hollow breaking right at Pipeline in Hawaii.

back down - To decide not to take off on a wave.

back off - When a wave coming in hits deeper water and starts to reform or disappear.

backside - 1. Surfing with your back to the wave. 2. A goofy-foot going right, or a regular foot going left.

backside/frontside - If you are working the shoulder of a wave and your back is to the wave: it's backside. If your front is to the wave: it’s frontside.

backwash - This is what happens when the tides are changing and sort of colliding with the outgoing tide. It sometimes creates a very interesting plume of water that shoots up into the air.

bag - 1. To leave, to split the scene, to bail out. 2. Your bag is your trip, your scene, your modus operandi. It's whatever turns you on.

baggies/baggys - oversized, loose fitting boxer-type swim trunks worn for show or comfort by surfers.

bail/bail out - To get away from; to jump off, or dive off the surfboard just before a potential wipe out.

bake - a closeout

banzai - a gung-ho type of yell given by surfers as they shoot the curl. (see cowabunga)

Banzai Pipeline - a surf spot on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, between Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach; also called Pipeline. (see Pipeline)

barney - inexperienced surfer or someone who acts immature (supposedly derived either from the phrase "out of the barnyard" or the comic character Barney Google or the character of Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show)

barrel - The breaking motion of a perfect wave; a hollow channel formed inside a good wave when it breaks and curls over. A hollow faced wave and great to ride.

barrel or barreled - tubed

bashing - body surfing

beach break/s - wave/s formed over sand and sand bars; they can shift seasonally and from storm to storm

beach bunny - female who goes to the beach to watch surfing

beached - To be totally stuffed from eating.

beaver tail - wet suit that features a snap-on crotch, the shape of which resembles a beaver's tail

benny - tanless tourist on the beach

bent - 1. To be enraged, as in bent out of shape or really pissed off. 2. To be slightly off, a little crazy, mental. 3. Really drunk, screwed up and wasted on drugs.

big gun - 9-foot or longer surfboard especially designed for large waves

big surf - extremely large waves (see bombora, heavies)

bitchin (also bitchen) - very good, tops, excellent; a classic beach word that dates all the way back to the 'beach blanket bingo' days. Bitchin means cool, righteous, out-of-sight, happening. If something is really bad (as in good), it's bitchin. (see boss, excellent, primo, rad)

Black Monday - 2005-12-5 is a day mourned by surfers everywhere due to the closing of the Clark Foam factory in Laguna Nigel, CA. This factory was the major provider worldwide of foam surfboard blanks.

blank - foam piece used to make a surfboard

blown-out - When the wind is blowing so hard as to chop up the surf and render it unridable.

bluebirds - huge waves that break outside of the normal breaking waves

BO DA DEM (BOH-dah-dehm) - both of them

board - short for surfboard

BODDA YOU? (BAH-dah yoo?) - Are you bothered by this?

bodybasher - bodysurfer

bodyboard - small soft foam board used primarily with swim fins, and ridden prone.

bodyrocket - bodysurfer

bodysurf - To surf the waves without a board. (Swim fins are optional.)

bogus - 1. false 2. lame 3. ridiculous 4. unbelievable

bodacious - extremely good and/or great

bomb(s) - large and very large waves

bombin' - This slangy adjective describes waves when they are at their biggest and most powerful. The size of bombin' waves is relative to where you live. A bombin' day in Hawaii might be 10-12 feet and ferocious while a bombin' day in Florida might be 3-4 feet and fun. Many local crews have their own variation on this term.

bombora - big wave that breaks outside the normal surf line (Australia)

bone yard - area where the waves break

booga-booga - big dangerous locals

booga bumbye - later on, in awhile

boogie board - soft, flexible foam bodyboard invented in the 1970s (Unlike a surfboard, a boogie board is ridden while lying down.)

boondocks (also booneys) - any place that is out in the middle of nowhere

boss - outstanding, the best (see bitchin, excellent, primo, rad)

bottom - 1. the ocean floor 2. the lowest part of the wave a surfer can ride on, the bottom of the wave

bowl - shallow spot in the path of the wave which causes the wave to break a little harder

box - slot for a removable fin on the bottom of surfboards, also known as a fin box

Box - gnarly surf spot in the boondocks of South Australia

BRADDAH (BRAH-dah) - brother

BRAH - friend or buddy

BREAK - wave action

breaker - any wave that breaks on the way to the beach

breakwater - line of large boulders, cement, and/or steel extending out into the water and designed to reduce shoreline erosion

bro (also bra) - short for brother, buddy or friend (see dude)

BROK' DA MOUT (BROHK dah mowt) - tastes delicious, yummy

bucket - helmet

BUMBYE (buhm-BY-ee) - When we get around to it, after a while.

bummer - something that’s too bad, a total drag

bump - a swell in the water

bumps - waxy build-up on a surfboard deck

bumpy - When the water is choppy. It could be a decent wave but still the face could be bumpy.

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cag - To choke, fail, not be able to handle the something.

calabash - someone who is very close, but not blood related

cannon ball - To go into a fetal position during a wipeout.

carve - To make a radical turn. (see hot-dogging, shred)

catch a wave - To ride a breaking wave.

caught inside - Having great trouble in paddling back out because the incoming waves are too big, powerful, difficult or impossible to get beyond; surfers that are inside the breaking waves and can't get to the outside smooth water because of the white water.

CHANG (chahng) - cheap, frugal

channel - a conduit of deeper water where excess water, piled up by waves, flows out to sea; a relatively deep spot where the waves don't normally break. It is easier here to get outside the break.

cheater five - five toes on the nose while keeping your weight back on the board to maintain trim and speed; squatting down and extending one foot forward

choice - the best

choke - To balk, falter and not be able to continue, to chicken out.

CHOKE - many, a lot, a big amount

CHOKE CARS - heavy with traffic

choppy - When very small waves on the surface are created by local winds; ocean wave conditions that are rough; not smooth.

chunder - vomit

clean - good conditions, good waves, and good surfboards

clean up - a wave or a set of waves, which break over or on surfers, clearing the line-up

clean-up wave - a wave that breaks outside of the line-up and dumps on the entire line-up

climbing - To carve an S-shaped path on a wave.

close out - 1. When waves break all the way across a bay or a normally safe channel rendering a surf spot unridable because surfers can't paddle-out to the line-up. 2. A wave that breaks all at once. 3. A wave that peels, and then breaks all at once.

cnoid waves - waves that look like lines of corduroy; As waves come into shallow water their shape changes to something called a 'cnoid' which has a short, steep crest and a long shallow trough.

clucked - To be afraid, intimidated by the wave.

coffin - To ride a surfboard while lying stiffly on your back with your arms crossed over your chest as if dead in a coffin.

cord - urethane leash used to attach the surfboard to a surfer

corduroy - When a series of swells are stacking up while coming in from the horizon.

covered - same as toobed

cowabunga (also kowabunga) - a yell of excitement by a surfer (see banzai)

crab - term used to describe bad surfing styles and for all kinds of surfcraft; also truck driver, humper or poo man (Australia)

crest - top portion of a wave

crew - group of surfers defined by a break or an area

cripple - knee boarder; a surfer who rides on his knees

crippler - really good; That chick is crippler!

cruncher - a big, hard-breaking wave that folds over and is almost impossible to ride

curl - portion of the wave that is spilling over and breaking

cut-back - a 180 degree turn that's done on either of the two rails of the surfboard; to turn back toward the curl or breaking part of a wave.

cut off - To be dropped in on by another surfer and having to change direction to avoid a collision. A person who does this could also be a shoulder hopper.

cut out - To pull-out or kick-out; to pull out of the wave (like kicking out).

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DA (dah) - the

DA CUTE (dah cute) - Isn't that darling, isn’t that cute.

DA KINE (dah KYN) - the whatchamacallit; used for anything that you are talking about that you can’t remember the word for.

da kine - Hawaiian surfer slang for good or the best, as in, I jus caught da kine wave, brah.

DAT (dat) - that

dawn patrol - an early morning quest for surf or a surfing session.

dawnie - dawn patrol (Ireland)

deak sesh (short for deak session) - To avoid contact with gremmies for a prolonged period of time. Example: Hey Brah! Croig was bein' a geek so I had to pull a major deak sesh on him!

deck - top side of the surfboard

death, the - the biggest, the most extreme, a good thing (New Zealand)

dick dragger - bodyboarder

ding - a hole, crack, dent, or scratch on the surface of a surfboard; damage to a surfboard

dipping - Short board maneuver used when paddling out to get under and through oncoming waves.

dirt, dirty - high quality; ie. dirt weed (New Zealand)

DIRTY LICK'NS - a spanking

doggers - multicolored swimming trunks

dogging - To go backside in the pit of the wave.

dork - someone who behaves inappropriately (see geek, kook)

double spinner - two consecutive 360-degree body spins on a surfboard

double up - When two waves combine.

drop - 1. To drop from the crest of the wave to the pit of the wave. 2. The water level from crest to trough. (Surfers take the drop.)

drop in - To catch a wave and go down the face; to catch a wave late and then stand up in front of someone already riding that wave.

drop in late - To catch the steepest part of a wave.

drop-knee - To have one foot on the bodyboard, with the other hanging off the back. Difficult and fun.

dropping - To do a bottom turn, climb to the wave's crest, then radically cut back.

dropping in - To catch a wave that is already occupied by taking off on the shoulder of the wave while the other person is taking off deeper into the wave.

duck dive - To dive under a breaking wave as you paddle out with the board.

dude - 1. comrade/ friend and/or name for unknown individuals 2. male surfing enthusiast (women are referred to as ‘dudettes’) 3. California slang for guy

dune - big peaky wave

durry - cigarette (Australia)

dweeb - a geek; someone who acts or looks like a simpleton

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earwax - the guy who gets the longest ‘tube ride’

eat it - To wipe out really bad on a wave.

EH? - You know?

eighty-sixed - To be checked out, done, finished. This is began and is still in use as a restaurant term with the same meaning. It originated during the Prohibition years in the US. A speakeasy in NYC named Chumley’s had (and still does) the back door address of 86 Bedford Street and when a patron became unruly he/she was ‘86’d’ out that door.

el rollo - To lie prone on a surfboard and hold onto the sides while rolling 360-degrees during a ride. This is a surf maneuver which until recently was only done by boogie boarders. It consists of going off the lip and doing a complete somersault with the lip as it drives you back down into the trough. Finishing is the hard part.

elevator drop - Executing a late drop-in results in this sensation.

ERIDING (EHR-ree-dihng) - everything, all of it

excellent - great, fantastic, exceptional (see bitchin, boss, primo, rad)

'EY! (AA) - Hey! (an attention-getting call)

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face - the unbroken wall, surface, or nearly vertical front of a wave

face-of-the-wave - front part of the wave (One rides on the face of the wave.)

FADDA (FAH-dah) - father

fade - To drop in towards the wave’s curl rather than with or away from the curl.

falls - the pitching lip of the wave (Don't get sucked into this.)

fan - trail of water such as a water skier throws as the result of a high powered or quick turn

feathering - When waves are about to cap or break; the very first sight of white water at the top of a wave, just before it breaks or spills.

fer sure (surfer pronunciation of ‘for sure’) - absolutely, correct, definitely

fetch - wind speed X time X distance (Determines the size of a wave.)

fin(s) - 1. rudder(s) used on the bottom of surfboards for control 2. fan-shaped rubber footgear worn to give more power when swimming, or body boarding.

filth or filthy - cool, righteous, out-of-sight, happening, hot, bitchin; The surf out there is filth. or That chick looks filthy.

fish - a shortboard with a swallowtail

floater - surfer who rides the board loosely along the top of the breaking wave and then comes back in

fluff - spray off the lip of the wave

foam - 1. core material used in the surfboards 2. white water of a breaking wave 3. bubbles left over from a breaking wave

FO' REAL? (foh REE-ahl) - Are you serious?

FO' SHUA (foh SHOO-ah) - for sure, for certain

four fin - four-finned surfboard

frequency downshifting - The increase of wave period within a fetch. A decrease in frequency is an increase in period. (You can look it up in your spare time.)

frigged - To be snaked.

front side - To be facing the wave while surfing.

full on - To be really into something; I was full on surfing.

FUT (fuht) - To fart, break wind, pass gas, contribute to global warming.

FUTSETTA (fuht-SEH-tah) - female under-the-bed monster, witch (used to threaten children with when they are misbehaving)

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gash - very sharp turn

geek - a person who behaves inappropriately (see kook, dork)

GEEV'UM (GEEV uhm) - Go for it!

gell - To vegetate, to do nothing.

GIDI GIDI (GEE-dee GEE-dee) - out-of-place hair growth (cowlicks) on the scalp of a human

glass axe - lip of a wave

glass job - protective fiberglass coating used on a surfboard

glasshouse - the tube; the space inside of a tube (see green room)

glass-off - calm period generally in the early evening when the sea becomes smooth (as glass) and the surf is good

glassy - smooth water surface condition caused by the absence of local winds; very smooth ocean and wave conditions, also ‘sheet glass’

gnarlatious - anything that's really great or awesome

gnarly - dangerous, rough, out of control, huge, bad or ugly; intense

going off - 1. To perform to the limit of one's personal abilities 2. very good waves; very good surfing.

GON FONIT (GAHN FAH-niht) - gosh darn it

GOOD FUN - Fun is okay, but GOOD FUN is better.

goofy-foot - To ride a surfboard with the right foot forward. (Left foot forward is the more common stance.)

gouge - To turn the board sharply and dramatically, at full speed.

green flash - The green color that sometimes occurs for a moment as the sun disappears over the ocean during sunsets on clear days.

green room - the tube; the space inside of a tube

gremlin - a young hodad; a beginning surfer (also see grommet)

gremmy/gremmie - see hodad

gremmies - pre-adolescent surfers

GRIND - To eat like there's no tomorrow!

grom (from grommet) - a young surfer

grommet / grommit - adolescent surfer; a young hodad; a beginning surfer (see gremlin)

ground swell - large waves generated by distant storms

gun - A large skinny surfboard, about seven feet long with a pointed tip, designed for very big waves. Large waves move incredibly fast and a streamlined board is required to keep pace with the wave whilst giving stability at speed. You'll see these in the big wave surfing videos. (see also big gun)

gunned - under-gunned or over-gunned refers to the size of your board in relation to wave conditions

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HAAD RUB(HAHD ruhb) - hard time, bad time, uncomfortable circumstances

HAD-IT (HAHD iht) - To be wasted, destroyed, wrecked.

hairy - see gnarly

hammered - To have taken a pounding from a wave.

HANA HOU (hah-nah HOH) - do it again, play it again

hang five/ten - To place five (or ten) toes over the nose of the surfboard (see toes on the nose)

hang ten - To have all ten toes on the nose. Gotta be on a log to do this one.

HAOLE (HOW-lay) - a non-Hawaiian, usually refers to a Caucasian

HAPAI (hah-PY-ee) - pregnant

hard core - extreme

HAWAIIAN (HAH-wy-ihn) - Local pronunciation of Hawaiian has the accent on the first syllable.

HAWAIIAN TIME - late

head dip - To touch the water with your head while surfing.

headstand - To stand on your head while riding a wave.

heavies - very big waves usually higher than 12 feet

held under / held down - To be held underwater by heavy surf.

hemo-ed - When something has been hemo-ed, it's been smashed, creamed, smeared and otherwise totaled.

hiddie (derivative of 'hideous') - Used to describe a particularly intense situation, maneuver, wave or boyfriend/girlfriend.

hit the lip - To maneuver the surfboard up to meet the lip of the wave as it is coming down, and then surf down with it.

hit the surf - To go surfing.

HO BRAH - hold on, friend!; an exclamation said before describing some amazing event, thing, or great looking person

hodad (HOH-dad) - a non-surfer, usually someone who just hangs around the beach; a name surfers call a guy that they don't like or is mean to them

hollow - a curling wave that is extremely concave; a cylinder shaped wave

honeys - female surfers or girlfriends of surfers

honker - a really big wave (see heavies, bombora)

hoot - To howl and yelp approval and encouragement to buddies.

hot-dogging - fancy surfing done by a skilled surfer

HOWZIT? (HAHW-ziht) - How is everything, what's up, what's going on?

huarache sandals - leather sandals worn by surfers with a sole made from tire treads

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impact zone - point where the waves break for the first time; where the waves are breaking

inside - 1. Where waves continue to break, reform, and break again if it's big enough. 2. To be surfing in the tube of a wave; to be positioned on the shore side of the breaking waves.

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jag - To retreat after getting worked.

JALIKE? (jah-LYK) - Would you like to?

jetty - see breakwater

jungle - Certain parts of Waikiki are known as the jungle because of all the crime and wild animals there.

JUNK - not good, rotten, lousy

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Kahuna - Hawaiian god of sun, sand, and surf

kai - Hawaiian for ocean or sea

kaiko - Hawaiian for strong current

kamikaze - To ride the board at the nose with your arms held straight out to each side.

K'DEN - (KAA-dehn) - ok then, agreed

kick out - 1. To push down on the tail of a surfboard to lift and turn the nose over the top of the wave 2. To exit a wave in a controlled maneuver 3. To end a ride by turning out or off of a wave.

killer - awesome, incredible; He rode that killer wave to the shore.

knots - calluses, or calcium deposits, just below the knee and on the tops of the foot caused by kneeling on the surfboard

KOLOHE (koh-LOH-hay) - rascal, trouble maker

kook (also kuk) - 1. a surfing beginner 2. someone who gets in the way or into trouble because of ignorance or inexperience (see dork, geek) 2. someone who pretends to be something they're not. 3. a completely awkward or bad surfer (highly derogatory)

kotch - To vomit. (South Africa)

kowabunga - see cowabunga

kuk - see kook

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landshark - a guy who doesn't surf, but says he does

leash - cord attaching a surfer's ankle to the surfboard

left - 1. a wave breaking to the left from the vantage of a surfer riding in 2. a wave breaking towards the right from the vantage point of the shore.

LIKE BEEF? - Want to fight?

line-up - 1. the place just beyond the impact zone where you wait to catch waves. 2. the place where the surfers are sitting. 3. the place where the waves are breaking 4. a marker on the beach used to position off of

lines - unbroken series of waves coming in

lip - 1. the part of a wave that pitches out. 2. the top of a breaking swell. 3. the curling lip at the top of a wave. 4. the top of the face of the wave.

locals - long-time regulars at a particular surf spot, or area

LOCAL STYLE - anything typical of the way people do things in Hawaii

locked in - To be firmly set in the curling portion of the wave with water holding down the tail of the board.

log - 1. longboard, nine feet and longer. 2. slang for a board made of wood

LOLO (LOH-loh) - dumb, stupid, idiotic

longboard - 1. surfboard eight to ten feet long 2. any board 3 feet longer than your height with a wider rounded nose (front)

LUA (LUU-ah) - bathroom

lull - a momentary gap or break in the waves

libation - refreshing beverage

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MAHALO (mah-HAH-loh) - thank you

make a wave - To go for a wave and ‘make it’ as opposed to getting tossed off your board and pounded by the wave.

MAKI (MAH-kee) - dead

MAKI DIE DEAD (MAH-kee DY-ee dehd) - extremely dead, way dead, no chance of surviving

mal (mawl) - gross

Mal - short for Malibu, a longboard (normally over 9 ft and fairly wide and thick) for riding small to medium size waves

max out - To be over the limit.

meatball - yellow flag with black circle indicating ‘No Surfing’

merv (short for Mervin) - a merv is just your typical run of the mill idiot

Meyerhoffer Hourglass Surfboard - an hourglass-shaped longboard (to make it lighter and easier to pilot while paddling for a wave) with a tapered nose (to prevent the tail from getting caught so the rider doesn't lose speed on a turn) and slimmer rails (to help draw water over the planed surface while gripping the wave from the back) - invented by Thomas Meyerhoffer in 2009.

MO BETTAH (moh BEH-tah) - much better, a much better idea

MOKE (mohk) - extremely large local and very tough guy

mokes - local tough guys in Hawaii

MOI MOI (MOH-ee MOH-ee) - sleep

momboosa - monstrous, gargantuan, huge, massive

MOMONA (moh-MOH-nah) - fat

mondo - something huge; of epic proportions; something that is mondo is the same size as something that is momboosaloid

MORE ON MJ - chew the fat, shoot the breeze

murph - a typical surfer; This word is in honor of the legendary ‘Murph the Surf’.

mushy - When the waves are slow, sloppy and of little power. When the waves are non-powerful and crumble.

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NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH - Just kidding.

nailed - To get badly wiped out.

nalu - Hawaiian for wave(s)

nectar - beautiful, awesome

negatory - no, negative, not gonna fly

Neptune Cocktail - a large bellyful of seawater that is ingested during a particularly gnarly wipeout (Usually happens concurrently with a sand facial.)

nipped - when a person's nipples are rubbed raw by a board or wet suit

NO AAK (noh ahk) - Quit showing off.

NO CAN (NOH cahn) - no can do, no way

noodle - exhausted, overall condition or specific as in noodle armed

nose -the bow or front end of a surfboard

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offshore winds - direction of the wind when it is blowing from the land towards the ocean

off the Richter - very good, excellent, or off the scale (see awesome, off the wall, outrageous)

off the wall - incredible, excellent (see awesome, off the Richter, outrageous)

OKOLE (oh-KOH-lay) - butt, rear end

OLU OLU (OH-loo OH-loo) - please

ONO (OH-noh) - Hawaiian for good or great

ONOLISICIOUS (oh-noh-LIH-shee-uhs) - really delicious, really good, really great

onshore winds - direction of the wind when it is blowing from the ocean towards the land

outline - circumference of a surfboard

outrageous - incredible, excellent (see awesome, off the Richter, off the wall)

outside - 1. offshore, beyond where the waves break 2. a wave that breaks further out 3. position of surfers on the backside of the swells

outside break - area farthest from shore where the waves are breaking

overhead waves - 1. the place higher than a person’s height over the falls 2. a wipe out where a surfer goes over with the breaking lip of the wave

over-the-falls - to get dragged over as the wave breaks; a bad, bad wipeout

overhead - When the waves exceed how high your head is. Classic term of exaggeration: Double Overhead

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PAU HANA (pow HAH-nah) - to be done with work

PANTY (PAHN-tee) - a frightened or timid person

peak - 1. highest part of a wave. 2. position where a wave first breaks

pearl - 1. To drive the nose of a surfboard under water to stop or slow down the ride. The term is borrowed from ‘pearl diving’. 2. A wipe out where the nose of the surfboard goes under the water.

peel off - a wave that breaks perfectly across the shore without spilling in front of itself

Pendleton - brightly colored plaid wool or flannel shirt worn by some surfers

period - time between waves

phat - nice, good, or great

phazer - surfboard designed with a dimpled bottom

Pipeline - A surf spot on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, between Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach; also called Banzai Pipeline. Originally named by surfing filmmaker Bruce Brown. (see Banzai Pipeline)

pit - place directly in front of the crest of the wave; the hollowest portion of a breaking wave

pitched - To be tossed off the lip of the wave and usually off the board

pitching out - When the lip of the wave throws outward.

pitted - To be in the pit of the wave.

PLANNY (PLEH-nee) - plenty, a lot, big amount, choke

point break - 1. a type of surf break where waves wrap around a promontory of land and curl as they break; waves breaking off and around an outcrop of land (A classic example of a point break is located at Rincon, California, just south of the Santa Barbara/Ventura County line.) 2. title of a 1991 movie involving surfing

point breaks - waves that form in reaction to the land form, consistent.

pop - kickout

pop-up - To get to your feet after catching the wave.

poser - surfer wannabe; someone who only dresses the part

pounder - hard-breaking wave

primo - good, excellent, also the name of a Hawaiian beer

prone - To ride with your belly on the board; the most common and easiest way to ride a bodyboard

prone out - To pull out of a wave by dropping to your belly and causing the nose to go under water and the tail to turn around.

primo - the best (see bitchin, boss, excellent, rad)

pucker factor - the effect an intimidating wave has on your ability to remain relaxed

puff - a spitting wave

pull out - To steer a surfboard over or through the back of a wave to end a ride.

pumping - quick turns to gain speed; non-stop good waves

PUPUS (PUU-puus) - appetizers

purplified - This means you have gotten so sunburned that you aren't just pink, or even red, you are -

puss - small windblown whitewater purple (New Zealand)

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Quasimodo - To surf forward in a hunched-over position; riding a wave on the nose of a surfboard in a crouched position with one arm forward and one arm back, named by surfer Mickey Muöoz.

queeb (short for queebie) - beach queens who think they are god's gift to everybody

quiver - a surfer's collection of boards; a board bag that holds several boards

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rad/radical - out of the ordinary, very good, tops, excellent (see bitchin, boss, primo, excellent)

RADICAL OUT - So radical, it's more than radical.

rail(s) - the curve on the sides of a surfboard; the rounded edges of the surfboard

rail grab - To hold the surfboard with one hand usually while going backside in the tube.

re-entry - To attack the lip, usually going vertically and then turning nose down and re-entering the wave.

reef break - waves that break over a bottom other than sand; waves that are formed over an underwater reef or rock and are consistent in shape and size

regular foot - surfer who surfs left foot forward

rickt (derived from ‘off the Richter scale’) - awesome, cool, da bomb, etc.

right - a wave breaking to the right from the vantage point of a surfer riding in; a wave breaking towards the left from the vantage point of the shore

rinse cycle - broken wave, ie caught in the rinse cycle

rip - 1. To surf to the height of one's abilities. 2. To shred, lacerate and dominate.

ripping - Executing drastic and radical moves on the wave. Having it your way with a wave. i.e. shredding; surfing well.

river mouth breaks - waves that form on the sediments deposited at the river mouth; similar to beach breaks but sometimes more susceptible to change

rocker - bottom curve of a surfboard from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail

rodeo clown - an aerial maneuver consisting of a back flip while spinning one and a half times

roller coaster - Going from the bottom to the top of a wave and then back down.

RUBBAH SLIPPAH (RUHB-ah SLIHP-ah) - rubber thongs for the feet

rubber arms - To faking going for a wave, or when a surfers’ arms are exhausted.

room - inside a large barrel

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s-turn - In surfing, s-turns are like enlarged squiggles.

sand facial - result of wiping out and being dragged along the bottom of the ocean, face first

Sano (abbreviated form of San Onofre) - a very clean, nicely contoured wave condition

scab - a reef or rock

scabbed - To get damaged by a reef or rock.

schlock - like a nerd, kook, lame-o, geek, idiot (insult)

schlong - thick, long, old style single-fin surfboard; Yiddish for male genitalia

scratching - Desperately trying to paddle over a set or a wave to avoid being caught inside or dumped on.

section - segment of a wave that is walled or lined up

selling Buicks - To be throwing up, vomiting; the process of reversing the ingestion of the dreaded Neptune Cocktail. After selling Buicks, it was generally assumed that your day at the beach was pretty much over.

set - series of outside breaking waves; a group of larger waves that come in periodically

shacked - To be covered up completely by the falling crest of a very steep wave.

shape - 1. the form of the waves 2. the contours of a surfboard

shaper - person who, starting with a foam surfboard blank, finishes the making of a surfboard

shibby - awesome, rad, totally

shnarf - To overstep one's boundaries.

shoot the curl - To ride a surfboard through, or in and out of, the hollow part of the wave that is formed as it crests over; to angle or trim with the breaking part of the wave.

shoot the pier - To ride a surfboard in between the pilings of a beachside pier.

shoot the tube - see shoot the curl

SHOOTS (shuuts) - okay, no problem, it's fine with me

shore break - 1. waves breaking very close to the beach 2. the inside where waves spill (usually shallow)

shore-dump / soup / slop - unorganized sloppy foam, no good for anything

shore pound - shallow hard breaking waves close to the shore

shorey - a shore break, where the bodyboarders usually excel

short board - small surfboard about six feet long or less

shoulder - unbroken edge of a breaking wave

shralp - To rip, tear and hot-dog all over the waves.

shred - To shred is the same as to shralp; to surf aggressively. (see hot-dogging)

shrouding - ripping, shredding, shralping

sick - especially radical or dramatic, can pertain to either a wave or performer; That was the sickest pit I ever saw! - - or - She pulled off the sickest cutback I ever saw!

side-slip - surfing maneuver, intentional or otherwise, in which the board loses traction and slips sideways down the face of the wave

SIDE EYE - a hard, cold, menacing stare (same as stink eye)

side shore - winds coming across from right or left rather than in or out

sidewalk surfing - skateboarding

sine waves - In deep water, swells are very well-approximated by pure sine waves.

single fin - surfboard with only one fin

skeg - fin at the tail end of a surfboard

slaps - Japanese slippers or zoris. (If you need slaps, it means you need a couple of slaps to the head to knock some sense into you.)

slash - cutback

sleeper set - usually the biggest wave of the day that catches surfers off guard

slide out - Unlike the slide slip, a slide out is never intentional. If you slide out, you fall off your board.

slop - mushy choppy waves

snake - 1. a person who drops in late on another surfer already riding a wave 2. To drop in on another surfer.

snaking - To go around behind another surfer to take off deeper.

snapback - a quick short radius direction change

soft board - surfboards made of soft materials for safety

soup - white water from a broken wave; whitewash water that is located in the impact zone, frothy and full of bubbles; The soup makes it difficult to paddle out of the Banger Zone. (Australia)

SPARK - To see, to check out.

spin out - result of a surfboard's skeg and tail end losing contact with the wave face so that the surfer wipes out; a wipe out where the fin(s) of a surfboard fail to hold in the face of the wave, causing the board to slide out from under the surfer

spinner - surfer making a complete 360-degree turn in an upright position while the surfboard keeps going straight (also called a ‘360’)

spit - spray of water that shoots out of a collapsing tube or hollow wave

sponge - bodyboard (Called sponge because its core is made of a sponge-like material.)

sponger - someone who uses soft body boards

spray - water being blown off the face of a wave; the ‘plume’; the release of water from a surfboard as it moves along (especially strong after quick turns)

squid - dislikable individual (Little squids are surfer guys that get in your way when you are surfing.)

squiggle - surf maneuver in small wave contests, also known as the butt wiggle (The squiggle is done by oscillating your board back and forth while maintaining the same forward track.)

stall - a maneuver intended to slow the surfboard’s forward momentum in order to let the wave catch up, or to get in the barrel

standup surfing - To stand up on the board and ride.

stick - surfboard

STINK EYE - a hard, cold, menacing stare (same as side eye)

stoked - To be geared up, wound up, full of enthusiasm.

stoked - To be happy, excited, contented.

straight off - When a surfer angling can't make a wave, the surfer turns the surfboard straight toward the beach to ride the white water in prone.

stringer - the wood centerline in surfboards, used to give the board more strength; the wood strip running down the center of the board, sometimes used for design

stuffed - To get driven under the water by a wave coming down on you

surf bunny - a surfer's girlfriend; a female surfer (see beach bunny)

surf spot - a particular location that surfers like to ride

surf wax - wax that is used for traction and applied to the deck of fiberglass surfboards

surfari - a surfing trip; a hunt for good surf

surfer's knots - large bumps on the tops of feet and knees caused by callusing where one continuously contacts a board

surf's up - waves are breaking and surfable; There are waves... I'm outta here!!!

sushi roll - an aerial maneuver consisting of a back flip while spinning 180 degrees and extending the body from the board like Superman

swell - a good thing

swell - a condition of waves; There's a good-sized swell due next week. - or - There's NO swell; it's flat.

swells - unbroken waves moving in groups of similar height and frequency

swish - a meek or fearful surfer

switch-stance - To be able to go from goofy to normal/regular foot and vice versa with ease.

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T-Amped - overdoing it, excited, stoked

tail - stern or rear end of a surfboard

tailslide - part of a larger maneuver in which the surfer purposely makes his/her fins lose their grip and the board slides

takeoff - the start of a ride

take-off point - the best spot to be in the line-up to catch the best part of a breaking wave

taking gas - To wipe out.

TALK STINK - To speak ill about someone.

TALK STORY - To talk about something or chat

tandem - Two people riding on a surfboard at the same time, usually a man and woman.

tank or tanker or log - a longboard or a very large board

template(s) - outline or pattern for shaping surfboard(s)

terrorize - If a surfer is dominating a particular surf spot and ripping it to shreds, he is said to be terrorizing.

360 - maneuver done wherein the board (and rider) spin 360 degrees on the face of the wave

throwing tail - To execute a turn so radically that the tail, or rear portion of the surfboard, breaks loose from the water's surface and begins to slide.

throw a fan - To erect a rooster-tail fan of spray as the result of a particularly dramatic turn.

thruster - three-finned or tri-fin surfboard

TITA (TIH-tah) - a very tough female who is willing to fight

t.o.a.d. - Take Off And Die!

toes-on-the-nose - To ride a wave with one's toes curled around the nose of the board; riding a surfboard with the toes hanging over the front end (see hang five/ten)

toobed! - To be riding inside the 'tube'; to be riding in the green room.

top turn - Similar to the re-entry but the approach is less vertical and usually performed to gain speed.

totally - Used to emphasize something; That libation looks totally bodacious.

tow-ins - Getting towed into waves that are too large to paddle into.

trim - Adjusting your position on a board so that it planes, and achieves its maximum speed; surfing with the wave in an unbroken line or at a perfect angle.

troll / surf troll - surfers with no money who live in cars, shacks, etc.

trough - the bottom part of a wave where it joins with the normal sea level, opposite of the crest

TRY MOVE - Please move out of the way.

tube - 1. the hollow portion of a wave formed when the crest spills over and makes a tunnel or hollow pipe-shaped space in front of the face of the wave. (see green room) 2. When a surfer rides inside a hollow breaking wave.

tube ride - the act of driving to the beach

tubed - To be riding inside the ‘tube’.

turn turtle - While paddling out, rolling the surfboard over fin(s) up, and hanging on when confronted with a wave.

TUTU (TUU-tuu) - grandmother

twin fin - a surfboard with two fins

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val - person from the San Fernando Valley, as referred to by persons living in the L.A.-area beach cities

victory at sea - When the waves are very choppy and windblown.

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waffling - To be rapidly working the board back and forth.

WAHINE (wah-HEE-nay) - woman, female

walking the board - To walk back and forth on the surfboard to maintain control.

walking the nose - To move forward on the board toward the front or nose.

WAT DOING? - What the 'bleep' are you doing?.

wax - substance applied to the top, or deck, of surfboards for traction

way - very much so; This place is way cool!

WE GO - Let's split, let’s leave immediately.

Wedge, The – a famous, but dangerous, body surfing spot located at the tip of the Balboa peninsula in Newport Beach, California.

wet suit - neoprene rubber suit used by surfers to keep warm

wind swells - waves formed close to the shore by local wind conditions, unorganized and have a tendency to be slop

wipe out - To fall off or be knocked off your board. (see eat it)

woodie - 1. a station wagon, made in the '40s and '50s, with wood paneling on the sides. 2. slang for erection

woofy - a little brown floating friend, in other words, a turd

worked, getting - The action a wave plays on you. It feels like being in a large washing machine.

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yeah now - good job, congratulations

"YEP!"- “Yes!” A traditional Australian warning for Look inside you. I am already taking off. Two people are paddling to the same spot, and the person who is deepest uses YEP! to call the other guy off.

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za - pizza

zipper - a fast breaking wave

zone - 1. where the waves are breaking 2. when rhythm, timing and flow come together

Zone, The - This is the place where there is no escape from the wrath of the oncoming wave. You are caught inside, too far in to catch the wave, and the wave is breaking to far out for you to paddle outside The Zone. You get pounded in The Zone.