Surf Slang
Surfing terms

360 - A surfing maneuver done where the board and surfer spin 360 degrees on the face 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.

Air - After a good bottom turn with lots of speed, head up the face, off-the-lip, and into the sky!

Barrel - A hollow faced wave and great to surf.

Blown-out - winds blowing so hard they chop up the surf and render it unridable.

Booger - Bodyboarder

Bottom - referring to the ocean floor or to the lowest part of the wave the surfer can ride on - the bottom of the wave.

Bowl - a shallow spot in the path of the wave, causing the wave to break a little harder.

Bumpy - choppy water or it could be a decent surf wave but the face is bumpy.

Caught Inside - a surfer on the shore-side of a breaking wave.

Channel - a deep spot where the waves don't normally break.

Choppy - Very small waves on the surface created by local winds.

Clean-up Wave - A wave that breaks outside of the line-up and dumps on the entire line-up.

Close out - when waves break all the way across a bay or normally safe channel rendering a surf spot unridable (because surfers can't paddle-out to the line-up.)

Covered - Same as "toobed."

Cut-Back - A 180 degree turn that's done on either of the two rails of the surfboard. Turn back toward the curl or breaking part of a wave.

Cut out - Same as pull-out or kick-out.

Da kine - The best kind of wave, as in, "I jus caught da kine wave, brah!"

Drop - The initial downward slide on the face of the wave after taking off and before the bottom turn.

Drop In - 1. To intentionally cause your board to drop or fall on someone who takes your wave, or obstructs your path, while surfing. 2. To snake someone; or cut in on another surfer's wave.

Drop-knee - One foot on the bodyboard, with the other hanging off the back. Difficult and fun surf style.

Dude - Friend. Buddy.

Floater - Where the surfer rides his board loosely along the top of the breaking up or foam of the wave.

Face-of-the-Wave - The front part of the wave. One rides on the face of the wave.

Goofy-foot - Surfer who surfs with right foot as lead foot.

Goon - Overbearing locals.

Grom - From grommet. A young surfer.

Gun - A board about seven feet long. Used for big-wave riding.

Hang Ten - All ten toes on the nose. Gotta be on a log (longboard) to do this one.

Hollow - extremely concave curling wave (a good thing!)

Hodad - A beginner or non-surfer.

Honey - A female surfer.

Inside - Refers to where you are in the line-up, or a place relative to the break. Inside would be on the side of the face of the wave; toward shore. Also refers to a position relative to the shore line, as in, "he craked his head on the inside reef."

Mushy - Slow, sloppy surf waves of little power. (Better than no waves.)

Outside - Refers to where you are in the line-up, or a place relative to the break. Outside would be on the back of the wave or it would be at the outer most place one could wait relative to the shore yet still catch a wave.

Over-the-falls - Not good!

Line-up - Place in the water where the wave breaks. Naturally, all the surfers "line up" there and wait for the perfect wave.

Log - A longboard - a surf board that is nine feet or longer.

Pit - Place directly in front of the crest of the wave. Usually, if surfers get in the pit, they lose speed, get caught and pounded.

Plank - Long board.

Lip - The top of the face of the wave. Usually curling forward some.

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

Pitched - Tossed off the lip of the wave and usually off the surf board.

Prone - Ride with your belly on the board. The most common and easiest way to ride a bodyboard.

Rickt - deriving from "Richters" from "Off the Richter Scale" meaning that something is awesome / cool / da bomb / etc...

Ripping - Executing drastic and radical moves on the wave. Having it your way with a wave.

Re-Entry - Attacking the lip, usually going vertically and then turning nose down and re-entering the wave.

Short Board - A board that is about six feet long or less.

Shore break - Waves break very close to the beach.

Shubee - A tourist who buys surfing gear, dresses surf, but has never surfed in his or her life.

Soup Bowl - Steep takeoff point with mushy shoulders on both sides. Prevelant on the US East Coast.

Sponge - Bodyboard. Called sponge because its core is made of a sponge-like material.

Sponger - Somebody that bodyboards.

Standup Surfing - To stand up on the surfboard and ride.

Stick - Your board.

Stoked - Thrilled. "I'm stoked man! I just got toobed!"

Swell - A good thing.

Tanker - Same as a log.

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

Take-off point - The best spot to be in the line-up to catch the best part of a breaking wave for surfing.

The ZONE: 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 too far out for you to paddle outside THE ZONE. You get pounded in the zone! Bad!

Toes-on-the-Nose - Riding a wave with one's toes curled around the nose of the surf board.

Toobed! - Riding inside the "tube."

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

Tourist - Non Local

Tube - When the crest falls over the hollow barrel, it forms a pipe shaped wave.

Tube-Ride - Where the surfer rides behind or inside the broken curl of the wave. Also known as "In the Barrel."

Surfz up! - Waves are breaking and we can surf. I'm outta here!

Local Lingo

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

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

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

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

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

BRADDAH (BRAH-dah) - brother

BRAH - friend or buddy

BREAK - wave action

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

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

CHOKE - many, a lot, a big amount

CHOKE CARS - heavy with traffic

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.

DAT (dat) – that

DIRTY LICK'NS - a spanking

EH? - You know?

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

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

FADDA (FAH-dah) – father

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

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

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)

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

HAPAI (hah-PY-ee) – pregnant

HAWAIIAN TIME - late

Hale (ha-lay) – House

Haole (how-lee) – Foreigner or Causacian. A common reference. Not an insult – most of the time

Hula (hoo-la) – A native dance

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

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

JUNK - not good, rotten, lousy

Kaamaina (ka-ma-eye-nah) – Local person

Kahuna - Hawaiian god of sun, sand, and surf

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

Kapu (ka-poo) – Anything that is forbidden or taboo

Keiki (key-kee) – Child

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

Lanai (lah-nigh) – Porch or patio

Lei (lay) – Garland

LIKE BEEF? - Want to fight?

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

LOLO (LOH-loh) - dumb, stupid, idiotic
Luau (loo-ow) –Celebratory feast

LUA (LUU-ah) – bathroom

MAHALO (mah-HAH-loh) - thank you

Mana (ma- nah) – Power or spirit

MAKI (MAH-kee) - dead

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

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

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

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

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

MOMONA (moh-MOH-nah) - fat

Muumuu (moo-oo-moo-oo) – Loose fitting dress usually in Hawaiian print

NO AAK (noh ahk) - Quit showing off.

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

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

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

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

Ono (oh-no) – Delicious

Pau (pow) – Finished

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

Pupu ( poo-poo)- Appetizer, starter dish

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

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

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

TALK STINK - To speak ill about someone.

TALK STORY - To talk about something or chat

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

TRY MOVE - Please move out of the way.

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

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