You will often see clean waves when the wind is very lightĬloseout – When a wave breaks across the beach or surf break all at once leaving no opportunity for a good ride on a surfboard. Often used when referring to big waves.Ĭhoppy – High winds often produce rough or choppy waves – not ideal for surfingĬlam Dragger – Derogatory term to describe a female bodyboarder, also see bodyboardĬlean wave – Smooth wave or ‘glassy’ wave. “Dude! I was caught inside for like 10 minutes while you were all getting shacked!”Ĭharging – Surfing without fear of falling or wiping out. A good carve will often result in a big ‘rooster tail’ or spray of waterĬaught inside – When you are stuck between the shoreline and the lineup with waves breaking on top of you. Can be either a male surfer or a female surfer.Ĭarve – A sharp turning maneuver putting the surfboard ‘on rail’ (the side of the board). The bottom turn sets the surfer up for his or her ride and is a very important skill to master.īreak – A beach, place to surf, or surf breakīro – Friend, dude, brother, homie, surfer. See also a booger, a boogie board, dick dragger, clam dragger, shark biscuit, sponger… the list goes on!īottom turn – After ‘dropping in’ to a wave a surfer must perform a bottom turn in order to get into the power source of the wave. Many ‘stand-up’ surfers do not like bodyboarders and as a result, many derogatory terms exist to describe them. Typically a beach break will have multiple areas to surf or multiple ‘peaks’īenny – a non-local surfer/someone from out of townīitchin’ – old school adjective to describe something amazing, awesome, or greatīodyboard / Bodyboarder – a small foam board that you ride lying in a prone position. See also, tube, or green roomīeach break – When the waves break over sand, not rock, pebble, or reef. Let’s pause for a second and check out the ULTIMATE amped surferįor more detail on kooks and barneys, read What is a kook?īarrel – When the wave breaks and folds over itself creating an open tube or barrel. Riding the barrel is the most coveted aspect of surfing. “I am soooo AMPED for this surf session!” Airs take their roots from skateboarding, pioneered by guys like Christian Fletcher and Martin ‘Pottz’ PotterĪmped – feeling excited, pumped up, e.g. ‘Hey, why soooo aggro bro?’Īir or Aerial – If a surfer performs an aerial, their board leaves the surface of the water and goes into the air, above the top part of the wave, or lip of the wave. Something we’ve missed? Drop us a message and we will be sure to add it! So, here we go… GLOSSARY OF SURFER SLANG TERMS AND SURFER LINGOģ60 – a surf move that finds its roots in skateboarding – the surfer will turn the board in a 360-degree motion while riding the face of a waveĪ-frame – a wave shaped like a triangle that breaks towards the left of the beach and right of the beach at the same timeĪggro – aggressive surfing/surfer e.g. Check out our ultimate guide to Surfing Slang and Surfer Lingo below. Many surfer slang words start off on the fringes of the English language and (in my experience anyway) end up finding their way into the mainstream over time.Įven though most hardcore surfers despise the way the ‘Hollywood Surfer’ is portrayed, you can’t deny we all have a pretty unique way of talking and our surfing lingo sure is kinda interesting. Dude? dude! Sick olas yo! Pull in, got spit out, then whooopah!

Pidgeon surf lingo