Corky Carroll: Surfing slang terms defined

Some years ago, I did a standup comedy routine for the Surfer Magazine television show. On one of the shows, I did a thing on surf terminology that became popular, even leading to one of my words becoming used on a TV sitcom a year or so later. I have done terminology here before, but I still get requests for it. So, today I have gathered some terms that you might hear if you were hanging at the fire ring and begin a little presentation to you on "da verbiage, brah."


AGGRO: Extremely aggressive. A way of surfing life at the Huntington Beach Pier.
AMPED: Very excited. Like, "she said yes!"
BARNYARD: A place for Barneys. Also another way to identify a geek, kuk, dweeb, zappofreak or surfnerd. Any form of humanity that is lesser in the food chain than you are.
BITCHIN': Something fantastic. Like, "that chick is soooooo bitchin' lookin"
BLOW CHUNCKS: Same as Technicolor yawn. To barf, ralph, hurl or toss your cookies.
BRODAD: A dude who overuses the terms "bro" or "Brah."
BURNT REYNOLDS: Having got over sunburned. Like, "wow dude, you are totally Burnt Reynolds."
CHARGER: Or, to charge. To totally go for it with wild abandon. Like, "wow man, you charged that extreme barrel."
CHINESE WAX JOB: Getting wax on the bottom of your board. This happens when you stack 'em on the car without putting a towel in between.
CLUCKER: A chicken or somebody who is afraid. Like, "Freddy really clucked on that big set wave. What a marf."
COFFEE BRICK: That feeling you get in your stomach when you have had too much coffee before paddling out.
COOLIO: Someone or something that is cooler than just mere cool. "Like cowabunga dude, that chick is totally cooleo."
CORE: Short for hardcore. Somebody who will go out in any condition on any equipment anytime. This is actually shortened from the original CORE-KY.
COWABUNGA: Sort of the same thing as "wow!" Although this can be used in a number of ways depending on the situation. Like "cowabunga, dude, gnarly boogie hangin' from your nose."
CREWBIES: People that tend to hang out in a group all the time. Like "Mikie won't go anywhere with his crewbies." In this situation, Mikie would be known as the CREWMASTER.
CRUMBEATER: This is the dude at the bottom of the food chain. He is always the one who has to stand in the smoke when at the fire ring. Like, "leave all the bogus leftovers for the crumbeater."


EDDIE: This refers to the late great Hawaiian big-wave surfer Eddie Aikau. You need to know this to understand the often used phrase, "Eddie would go!" It means that he would take off and is sort of a bar to determine whether you are a clucker or not.
EL ROLLO: A surfing maneuver invented by me by accident and featured in the film, "Endless Summer." It means to do a full forward roll while riding the wave. Guys can actually do these now.
F.O.G.: Freaking old guys. Like when you are sitting in the lineup waiting for some waves and you see a whole herd of old dudes stroking it out on huge boards with giant smiles on their faces, like they are gonna take all the waves or somethin', you would say, "Oh crud, the fog's rollin' in."
FACE: The front of a wave. Like, "the faces were about 20 feet today but the water was filled with cluckers."
FALLS: The breaking part of the wave that throws out. A common way to eat it is to go "over the falls."
FEATHERING: The spray coming off the top of a wave just getting ready to break when the wind is blowing offshore. Like, "check out that perfecto peak feathering over on the north side."
FINS: The things on the bottom of surfboards to make them hold an angle. Also, the things on the back of sharks that stick out of the water and scare everybody out of the lineup.
FISH: A shape of surfboard that was copied from the original twin fin design. Also, the aftershave scent used by the Waterman.
FLAT: No surf. It has another meaning, which has been edited out.
FLOATER: A surfing move where you ride across the top of the wave and then let the board fall out of the wave face and land lower down the wave. The idea is to land it and keep going. Also, used to describe a dude who drinks a lot of root beer.
FOAM: The broken part of the wave, also called the whitewater. This is also the name of the core material used in surfboards. A 'foamer' is either a person who rides the foam all the time or somebody who gets all foamie in the mouth over something exciting.
FRONTSIDE: To ride facing the wave. Riding with your back to the wave is called backside.

FROTHING: this is what you do after getting a great ride or when you are checking out an extremely hot babe. Also used to describe a giant wave that is just getting ready to break on you.
FUDGE TUNNEL: any break that has extremely dirty water.
FUNBOARD: a midsized surfboard, usually used for small surf as it is easy to ride.
GEEK: one of many terms used to describe one who lacks the surfular, cultural and social skills of those of us who are of a higher pedigree of human being.
GLASSED OFF: also called 'glassy.' This describes a condition when there is no wind blowing and the ocean is as 'smooth as glass.' This is also a term used by the Iguana and myself to describe our condition when we are watching the sunset from my deck and are on our first evening tequila. We are 'glassing off.'
GNARLY: something extremely heavy or serious. Also used simply as 'gnar.' As in "whoa dude, that bone crushing wipe out was totally gnar!"
GOING OFF: when a surf break or an individual is experiencing excellence. "The pier is really going off!"
GOOFYFOOT: someone who stands with his or her right foot forward. Left foot forward is regular foot. There is lore on how this all got started, with some people saying it goes back to a Disney cartoon back in the 1930s that showed Goofy surfing with his right foot forward.
GREMLIN: this is used to describe a young and small surfer. In recent years, the Aussies have sort of messed this up by introducing the term "grom," short for grommet. A grem and a grom are the same thing.
GROVEL: this is the act of struggling in one way or another. "Larry is really groveling in the shore break today." Or "Larry went groveling back to LuLu after she gave him the foot."
GUN: a big wave surfboard. It is long and drawn in toward the tail to hold in on giant waves.
HAMMERED: the act of being slammed in one way or another. "Geeze, Freddie really got hammered on that one!"
HANG TEN: a long boarding move where the surfer walks to the nose of the board and hangs all ten of his toes over the nose. This is better than hanging five.
HAOLE: this is a good term to know and understand when you travel to Hawaii. It is their local term for "white person." It is used in a negative way most of the time, but not always. But if you hear some big gnarly Hawaiian dude yell over to you, "Hey Haole... " it might be a good idea to beat it outta there quickly. That is usually followed by, "you like beef?" And trust me when I tell you that he is not asking you if you wanna come over to dinner.


HEAD DIP: a long board move where the surfer sticks his head into the face of the wave for a moment. When done correctly, the surfer finishes this off with one of those cool head snaps where he flings his hair sideways and the water flies off. I am not sure what the real purpose of this move is, other than maybe clean your ears out or get rid of some seaweed stuck in your hair, but it is kinda cool nonetheless.
HEAD HIGH: the term used to say that the wave size is the same as a person's height. You can also use 'overhead' when it is just a bit bigger than head high. Then, of course, you have double overhead, triple overhead, and 'freakin' big.'
HODAD: this term was used a lot back in the '50s and '60s, but seems to have gone out of style. The classic description of a hodad would be like a 'greaser.' Think Vinnie Barbarino or anybody in the movie Grease. These guys were like the anti-surf crowd.
HOLLOW: a very steep wave that turns concave inside when it breaks. We like hollow waves.
HOODIE: a hooded sweatshirt.
HOTDOGGER: when surfboards first got light enough for guys to start making a lot of turns and walk the nose, the term 'hotdogging' was born. A flashy surfer on a longboard was called a hotdogger. Dewey Weber would have been a prime example of that, along with Mickey Munoz and Mike Doyle.
HUMONGOUS: an adjective for 'really big.' Huger than huge would be humongous. Used like, "Wow Larry, the surf was humongous out there!"
HYBRID: a midsize surfboard with performance capability and decent flotation.


WE MISS YOU, MIKE
I want to mention that all of us in the Orange County surfing community are really sad about the loss of longtime Newport Beach surfer and shaper Mike Marshall. Mike was one of the best.


DIRTY WATER BAND
• I also wanted to give a plug for the Dirty Water Band who will be hard rocking Octane Alley here in Huntington Beach on Feb. 27.


IMPACT ZONE: This is the area where the waves break the most intensely. It's not a good idea to hang out in that area too long or you will get worked.
JETTY: A rock formation that sticks into the ocean like a pier. These are usually found near entries into harbors or along beaches to help stop sand erosion. Jetties can form sandbars and make for good waves. They also can break your board up pretty good if you hit one.
KICK OUT: A maneuver used to get out of a wave. Also used to mean leaving. "This party is weak, I'm kickin' out."
KILLER: This is a term used to say that something is really good. "That wave was killer, dude."
KOOK: Term used to describe somebody who can't surf but is attempting it. "Whoa, look at that lame kuk going straight into the jetty."
LAYBACK: This is a surfing move where the rider lays himself back onto the face of the wave, slowing his board down in the process. It's kinda cool looking when done right, but looks totally lame when overdone by some spazzmaster.
LEASH: The cord that surfers use to attach themselves to the surfboard. This keeps you from having to swim after your board when you fall off. There is good and bad about using the leash. It's good that you don't lose your board, but bad if they get wrapped around your legs and trip you.
LINEUP: The is the place outside of the surf where surfers sit on their boards and wait for the sets to come in. There is a lot of subtle and not so subtle maneuvering that goes on in the lineup in order to better your position for takeoff when a good wave comes along. It's also a place to chit chat with other surfers.
LIP: The top edge of a wave. There are many surfing moves that involve hitting your board off of the lip such as "smacking the lip." When done correctly you can comment, "Wow Margaret, that was lip smackin' good."
LOCKED IN: To be tucked into the perfect position inside the curling part of the wave. Or, being in jail.
LOG: A long board. "Man, here comes Mickey on that log again."


LONGBOARD: This is technically considered any surfboard that is nine feet or over in length, but it is subjective really. For example, a small girl riding an 8' board would be considered long boarding. Basically, it is a long surfboard.
LULL: A long period between waves when the water is flat. Also used to describe the period between romantic relationships.
MACKING: When the surf is extremely intense. "Wow, George, it was 'mackin' out there today." You can also use this with eating. Such as, "Whoa, look at Mickey Ratt totally mackin' out on that stack of hotcakes."
MINIGUN: A speed shape surfboard that was designed for medium to large surf back in the 1960s. A full gun is a board for really big surf. The first ones were called "elephant guns." Later this term was shortened to just "gun" or "big wave gun."
MUSHBURGER: This describes a wave that is full of water and is mushy. This is one of my own words that caught on. It came about one day after a couple of friends and I had lunch at Mac's Coffee Break in Dana Point. We had eaten Mac's Hamburgers. Then we went to San Onofre to check the surf and it was very mushy. Still feeling the effects of being full from the burgers, I commented that it was "burgering" out there. My friend said, "What are you talking about?" And I said the waves were like big "mushburgers." It caught on.
NECTAR: This is used as an adjective for something great. You can say that the surf was nectar or your new surfboard is totally nectar, etc. But it seems to work best when talking about women because the connotation is that "nectar" is sweet.
NOODLED: When you are so tired from surfing that your arms feel like that have turned into noodles it is called being "noodled." Or you can say, "My arms are beginning to noodleize."
NORTH SHORE: In surfing, this always means the North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
NOSE RIDE: The act of riding on the front of a surfboard. This is a long board move, although I have seen a few people do it on short boards. If you put five toes over the nose, it is called "hanging five." Ten toes over is "hanging ten."
OFFSHORE: This is the name for the wind that blows off the land and towards the ocean. It holds the waves up and makes them hollow and better shaped, usually. ONSHORE is the opposite and makes the waves choppy and BLOWN OUT.


PEELING: This is not something you do with a banana or in a car. This describes a wave that breaks perfectly in one direction or the other, or both. You would say, "Look Larry, it's peelin' out there. Grab your stick and let's hit it before Mickey Ratt gets out there."
QUIVER: This is your stash of surfboards, much like arrows to a bow-and-arrow person. It is also something you do on the beach on a monster wave day when you don't want to go out but all your buds are callin' you on.
RAIL: This is what we call the sides of the surfboard as opposed to the top and bottom or nose and tail. Uses of this include "rail sandwich," where the board hits you in the mouth, or "grabbing a rail," where you grab on with one hand while riding a wave to insure you don't eat it and get a rail sandwich.
RASH GUARD: A Lycia shirt used to protect us from the sun and from getting nipple rashes from the wax on the deck of our boards. Nipple rashes are really no fun. Getting the right size in a rash guard is critical because if you don't you will get a rash from wearing the rash guard – and a rash guard rash is really a mega bummer.
RIP: To surf well.
RUBBERED: The way you feel after a full day surf session and your arms are like rubber. Or what you have to be in order to surf in really cold conditions.
SECTION: When a wave does not peel perfectly, you would say, "It's mackin' big time but there are some gnarly sections in the inside lineup."
SHAKA: This is sort of Hawaiian slang that would mean the same thing as, "Hey bro, way cool." There is a hand signal that goes with this that is not allowed by any of the schools in our district, so kids don't be doing that and saying you got it from me.
SHOOT THE PIER: I had to put this one in as this is coming to you from Huntington Beach. This means to ride through the pier.
SHOULDER HOPPER: The absolute scum of the earth, lower than a lawyer. These are the bottom feeders that rudely take off in front of somebody who is already coming down the wave and in better position that they are. I attract these vermin for some reason. At least two or three burn me every day. You know who you are, too, and if I wasn't a weak old wuss I would smack ya down hard. But I am, so I won't.


SEX WAX: This is actually a brand of surfboard wax. Somebody told the person who started it to give it a sexy name. So he called it Sex Wax. Once, when I was working in a surf shop, a couple of girls from France came in and asked what that was. I told them it was something else and they giggled, bought two bars and mentioned something about 'Pierre' and 'Henry.' The small things make me smile.
SHRALPING: This means to surf well. You can also use 'shredding' or 'ripping' for this same use.
SOUL ARCH: This surf pose was perfected by David Nuuhiwa during the nose-riding era. My favorite was in infamous 'hood ornament soul arch' performed by Craig 'Owl' Chapman more than many times back in the 1970s. Surfer/musician Donavon Frankenreiter has been known to excel in this classic stance at times, too.
SOUP: The broken part of the wave, also called the whitewater.
SPONGER: Anyone riding a body board.
STINKBUG STANCE: This was made popular by certain legendary big wave surfers who had more nerve than style. It is sort of a squat with arms out wide that resembles a stinkbug.
TAIL: The back end of a surfboard. A popular surf move used is the 'tail slide.'
TALK STORY: What I attempt to do hear each week but usually wind up in some rambling nonsense that makes no rhyme or reason to even me. Like, "Once upon a time at surf camp..."
THRUSTER: A three-fin surfboard design developed by Simon Anderson back in the 70s and still used today.
TOMBSTONING: This is a bad thing to happen to you. It is when you get held down so deep and strong that your leash pulls the tail of the board underwater, leaving the nose sticking up like a tombstone.
TOES ON THE NOSE: The act of nose riding where you hang your toes over the front of the board.
TWIN FIN: A classic surfboard shape made popular by Rolf Aurness and me in 1970. Later, this shape was copied with a 'swallow tail' and they named it the 'fish.' I still claim its better in its original form.
VICTORY AT SEA: Windy and choppy conditions.
WOODY: The old station wagons that had wood panel sides. Surfers used them because they were cheap and you could sleep in them.
WIPE OUT: What this series of surfology has turned into. I am done.



 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dude-229734-time-wow.html