 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.
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
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.
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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.
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).
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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)
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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.
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)
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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.
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
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
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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)
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
 NOTE: All Hawaiian slang is entirely CAPITALIZED
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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
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