Surfing Slang

Surf slag is a bit of a strange one. By the time we’ve heard it, it’s probably passé.

But it can be useful to understand the natives…

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A

Air/Aerial – A maneuver in which a surfer launches completely out of the water. Getting airborne.

Stick Man getting his fins out in the open

Amped – Excited, hyped up.

B

Backside – If a surfer is facing away from the wave, he is surfing “backside”. IE, the wave is at his back.

Blown out – Strong winds causing waves to have choppy, uneven surfaces.

Bodyboard – A small board (usually measured from chin to knees) ridden in a prone position.

Bottom turn – A maneuver in which a surfer turns in the trough of a wave to face along it. A crucial maneuver and often the very first thing a surfer does after he’s popped up.

Stick Man sets up with a solid bottom turn

Bra/Brah – Buddy, mate (literally ‘brother’) usually used when talking to friends.

C

Clean – Smooth, “glassy” waves without any choppy water.

Close Out – When a wave breaks along it’s length at the same time, making it impossible for a surfer to go “down the line”.

Charging – Travelling along a wave aggressively or with great speed. Often used with reference to big waves e.g. “big wave charger”.

Chop/Chops – Choppy water caused by high winds. (Not to be confused with Fin chop).

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D

Dark – Intensely impressive. Synonymous of “really good/cool”.

Down the line – Travelling along the length of a wave (as apposed to travelling straight in to the shore).

Drop in – When a surfer enters a wave that’s already been ridden, without priority. A dangerous and rightfully disliked manoeuvre. Also, more generally; entering or re-entering a wave (similar to “dropping in” on a skateboard ramp).

E

F

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Fade: When a surfer starts riding a wave at a slight angle toward the white water, with the intention of turning back down the line.

Face – The front of a wave. “He rode along the face”.

Fin chop – Injury/damage caused by surfboard fins.

Floater – A maneuver in which a surfer rides along the lip of a wave, similar to ‘grinding’ the lip of a ramp for skateboarders.

Stick Man floats across a pitching lip

Foamie/Fun Board – Thick, voluminous, buoyant, soft-topped board useful  usually used by beginners.

Frontside – If a surfer is facing towards the wave, he is surfing “frontside”. IE, the wave is at his front.

Stick Man charging (frontside) on an overhead right hander

G

Glass – clean, smooth waves without any choppy water.

Gnarly – Dangerous (e.g. sharp reef) or daring (e.g. surfer taking on a heavy wave). Synonymous of “really good/cool”.

Goofy (stance) – Right foot forward on the board.

Grommet/Gremlin – Young surfer.

H

Hack – “Throwing spray” with a quick and powerful top turn or cutback.

Stick Man chucking buckets

Handlebars/Going over the handlebars – Used to refer to the front of the board when a surfer falls forward, usually when pearling.

Hang five/ten – Quite literally means to hang your toes over the edge of the board. One foot (five toes) or two feet (ten toes).

I

Impact Zone – The area where the lip is going to land when the wave breaks.

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J

Jacked Up – When a wave suddenly becomes a steep face. “The wave just jacked up out of nowhere!”

K

Kook – New/learner surfer – usually derogatory.

L

Leash – A cable or length of rope attaching a surfboard to a surfer to ensure surfboards don’t get washed away. Can be attached via ankle, wrist or knee straps.

Lefty/Left/Left Hander – Refers to waves breaking from right to left. Always from the perspective of the surfer on the wave (facing inland).

Line-up – The point at which surfers will place themselves on the water when waiting for waves to come in. Referenced by two points in-land from which position can be triangulated. Also used casually to refer to the people on the line-up.

Lip – The peak of a breaking wave.

Lip Climb – Moving from the bottom of the wave (trough) to the top; negotiating the lip.

Localism – Defensiveness of a surf spot from local people. Anything from verbal abuse to violence.

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M

Mind Surfing/Mind Surfer – Looking at a wave and imagining surfing it (e.g. before surfing to understand conditions better).

Stick Man mind surfs a poster of a perfect right

Mini Mal/Mini Malibu – A shorter version of a Malibu surf board. An “all rounder” type surf board, often cited as a suitable board for beginners.

N

O

Over the falls – Going over with the lip of the wave, as in going down a waterfall.

Overhead – When the height of a wave is over head height. Although not strictly defined, this usually refers to the height of the surfable face of a wave. Universally accepted overhead is 6ft+

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P

Peak – The highest point of a wave, as in “peaks and troughs”.

Pearl/Pearling – When the nose of a board is accidentally driven underwater, often resulting in the rider going “over the handlebars”.

Pop/Pop Up – The movement of going from a prone position to standing on a surfboard.

Pop Out – A surfboard that hasn’t been hand made (shaped). Any  surfboard that has been mass manufactured or “popped out”.

Priority – When one surfer, whoever’s closest to the white water, has right of way. Whoever has priority should be allowed to ride the wave without anyone else “dropping in”.

Q

R

Rad – Radical, oldschool style. Synonymous of “really good/cool”.

Reef break – A surf spot over a reef (as apposed to a beach break).

Regular (stance) – Left foot forward on the board.

Righty/Right/Right Hander – Refers to waves breaking from left to right. Always from the perspective of the surfer on the wave (facing inland).

Rip/Rip Current – A strong flow/current of water.

Rip current pulsations – Rip currents can quickly accelerate in speed after a big set has come in.

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S

Section – A part of a wave, referred to as a surfer moves along the face of a wave. “He’s hunting for another good section”.

Set – A group of waves.

Shaka – The “Shaka Sign”; thumb and pinky finger outstretched, index, middle and ring fingers curled up, denotes aloha spirit. Happiness, togetherness and generally good vibes.

Shaped – A hand made surfboard.

Shaper – One who makes (shapes) surfboards.

Sick – Synonymous of “really good/cool”.

Slab – Big nasty (heavy/steep) waves with a lot of volume. Usually reef breaks.

Slicing – Surfing through choppy water.

Slush – The white foam of a broken wave (white water).

Snap – A maneuver in which a surfer turns very quickly at the lip of a wave. “He snapped off the top”.

Stick – Surf board (Stick Man – The OTD cartoon surfer!)

Stoked – Excited, impressed, happy.

T

Throwing a tail – A maneuver in which a surfer pushes the back (tail) of a surfboard outwards whilst turning. Think of a handbrake turn.

Thruster – One of the best known arrangements of fins on a surfboard – three equally sized fins usually in a triangular formation (one at the back). Designed by Simon Anderson in 1980.

Tombstone – When the leash of a surfboard is pulled taut by a fallen surfer, causing it to stick out of the water like a tombstone.

Stick Man, glad the leash hasn’t snapped after a heavy wipeout

Trough – The lowest point in a wave, as in “peaks and troughs”.

U

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V

W

White water – The white froth of a wave after it’s broken. Usually the best place for beginners to learn the basics.

Wipeout – When a surfer falls off a board, usually used in a situation when the fall is spectacular.

X

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Y

Z

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