Surfing Lingo

Aerial - a surf maneuver where a surfer hits the crest of the wave and flies through the air A-frame - a wave peak breaking left and right with perfect shape Aggro - an Australian expression for aggressive surfing or aggressive surfer Alaia - a surfboard made of wood originally used by Hawaiians to surf breaking waves, in the late 19th century Aloha - a Hawaiian greeting that means "hello" or "goodbye" Backdoor - when a surfer pulls into a hollow section from behind the section Backside - when a surfer rides with his back to the wave Backwash - when a wave sweeps up the beach and returns to the ocean, sometimes colliding with incoming waves Bail - an evasive maneuver activated when a surfer is caught inside or when he is about to wipeout Bailing - letting go of your surfboard Barrel - the tube, the curl of the wave Bathymetry - the measurement of depths of water in oceans and seas Beach break - waves that break over sandbars Blank - a rough block of polyurethane foam that will be transformed into a surfboard Bodysurf - the sport of riding waves the body and swim fins Bogging - what happens when a surfer's weight is too far back, and the surfboard nose lifts up Bombora - a deep water, offshore reef break Bottom turn - when a surfer turns at the bottom of the wave to start trimming the optimal surf line Bro - brother, mate Carve - a sharp turn on the wave face Chandelier - water falling at a barrel opening threatening the tube rider Chop - bumpy ocean and wave conditions that are rough due to strong winds and/or currents Closeout - when a wave breaks all at once, with no shape or shoulder Corduroy - the vision of a series of swells marching in from the horizon Crest - the top and highest point of a wave Cutback - a turn performed on the flats or in the shoulder of the wave, in order to get the surfer back on the surf line Deck - the top of the surfboard Ding - a crack, hole or fracture in a surfboard Drop in - to get in the right of way of a surfer who is already riding a wave Drop - the moment after paddling in and standing up, just before the first turn of the wave face Duck Diving - the technique of pushing the surfboard under and through a breaking wave Dude - a cool person or surfer Epoxy - a type of plastic resin used to produce surfboards Fetch - the uninterrupted distance over which the wind blows without a significant change of direction Fin - a hydrofoil mounted at the tail of a surfboard to improve directional stability and control through foot-steering Flat - with no waves, or with no surf Flats - the horizontal part of a breaking wave, also known as the shoulder Floater - a surf maneuver where the rider goes over the top of a crumbling section and ends up in the flats Foam board - a surfboard for beginners, with an exterior shell made of soft foam Foam - whitewater Frontside - when a surfer rides facing the wave Froth - stoked, amped or excited Glassy - a maritime condition when there is no wind to ripple the wave face Gnarly - awesome Goofy foot - a surfer who rides waves with his right leg forward Grommet - a young surfer Groundswell - a swell that traveled thousands of miles through the ocean, with a period of 15 seconds or more Gun - a big surfboard for riding big waves Hang loose - a Hawaiian expression for a relaxing, easygoing and carefree attitude Haole - an Hawaiian word for "foreigner" Hawaiian scale - an underestimated way of measuring waves by the Hawaiians Heat - a competitive period held in surf contests Inside - the area where waves end, as opposed to outside Kahuna - wizard, magician Kick out - a surf maneuver done at the end of a wave ride to exit it Knot - a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour Kook - a beginner surfer, an inexperienced surfer or a bad surfer Leash - the cord that attaches a surfboard to the surfer Line-up - the spot in the ocean where surfers line up to catch waves, just behind the breaking zone Lip - the curling part of a wave Localism - an aggressive territorial protection of a surf spot by local surfers Longboard - the longest surfboard Lull - time between sets of wave with no waves breaking Mack - big Mental - crazy or radical Mysto spot - a surf spot that breaks on a far away reef Neoprene - an ultra stretchy rubber made from melted-down petroleum chips used to make wetsuits Offshore wind - wind blowing from the shore out to the ocean, holding the curl line and smoothing the wave face Onshore wind - wind blowing from the ocean toward shore, destroying the quality of waves Out the back - an Australian expression for paddling through the breaking waves into the line-up zone Outline - the shape of a surfboard from nose to tail Outside - the line-up are, as opposed to inside Paddle battle - a race between surfers to get into a curl first and thus gain the right of way Peak - the spot in the ocean where the wave breaks for both sides Pearling - what happens when a surfer's weight is too far forward and the surfboard nose dives underwater Pit - the impact zone of the wave Pitted - tubed, barreled Polyurethane - the most common type of material used in surfboard manufacturing Pop-up - the quick move a surfer makes to rise to a standing position when taking off on a wave Punt - to perform an aerial maneuver PWC - personal watercraft; a generic term for a jet ski Quiver - the number/collection of surfboards owned by a surfer Rail - the edge of a surfboard Rash guard - a form-fitting shirt made of nylon-polyester-spandex mixture used under the wetsuit Reef break - a wave that breaks over rock or coral Reflection - when a wave strikes a hard object and bounces some of its energy off into another direction Refraction - the effect by which a swell moving along a point of land slows down where it feels shallow water Regular foot - a surfer who rides waves with his left leg forward Right of way - priority given to the surfer closer to the breaking part of the wave Rip - to surf very well Rip current - a strong surface current of short duration flowing seaward from the shore, also known as rip tide Rocker - the curve of the surfboard bottom from nose to tail viewed from the side Rogue wave - an open ocean wave bigger than the current sea condition Section - a part of the wave that breaks ahead of the curl line Set - a group of waves Shaka - a Hawaiian hand gesture used to say "hello," "great," "cool" and "alright" Shaper - a surfboard designer and producer Shoaling - the effect by which waves entering shallower water increase in height Shore break - the area where the ocean waves meet the beach Shortboard - a small surfboard Skeg - an old expression for surfboard fin Slab - an heavy reef break coming out of deep water and breaking in very shallow water Snaking - the aggressive act of paddling under, around, or over the top of another surfer to get right of way Soup - the broken foam of a wave Stall - a surf maneuver when a surfer slows the speed the surfboard to let the tube catchup Stance - the surfer's feet position on a surfboard Stick - a slang for surfboard Stringer - the wooden material that runs down the center of the surfboard to give strength and flexibility to the foam Stoked - enthusiastic, exhilarated, or excited SUP - stand up paddleboard Surging wave - a wave that doesn't have time to break because the transition from deep-water to shallow water is too fast. Swell - energy powered by strong winds which produces wave trains Take-off - the start of a wave ride Thruster - the three-fin surfboard design created by Simon Anderson Tidal bore - a rare phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave that travels up a river Tow-in - when surfers use personal watercraft to tow into waves that can't be paddled into. Trimming - finding the perfect surf line for speed on the wave face Trough - the bottom of the wave, the opposite of a crest Tsunami - a giant and deadly wave Tube - the hollow interior of a wave, also known as barrel Turtle roll - a surfing technique where the surfer flips the board over in front of an oncoming wave to get under it Twin-fin - a surfboard with two fins Wahine - a female surfer Wave height - the difference between the elevations of a crest and a neighboring trough Wave period - the time between two consecutive wave crests Wave train - a group of swells of similar wavelengths - Wavelength - the distance between the crest of one wave to the crest of the next wave Wax - a paraffin-based product which is applied to the surfboard deck to increase traction and reduce slippery Wedge - a steep wave Wetsuit - a garment made of neoprene which provides thermal insulation Whitewater - the foamy, white-colored water created where a wave breaks Windswell - a group of waves generated by local winds, within less than 800 miles from the coast Wipeout - an unexpected fall off a surfboard while surfing a wave, or surf accident