Surf Terms

With the help of the Surfing Terms page you will be able to not only walk like a surfer but also to talk like one. Chill with the locals, impress the hotties at the local bar or not get caught out by that know it all brat who is going out with your younger brother or sister.. Read on and increase your knowledge.

(Thanks to everyone who is emailing us with new terms to include - keep them coming)

One piece of surf talk you will always hear - "You should have been here yesterday!"

Glossary Of Surfing Terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P
Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

180 / 360

A-Frame
Perfect barreling surf. A cross-section of the wave reveales an 'a' shape where it is breaking soooo nicely.

Aggro
Aggressive attitude in the water. Having a bad attitude.

Amped
Getting excited while surfing or really looking forward to a surf.

Ankle Busters / Snappers
Small waves

ASP
ASP stands for Association of Professional Surfing. These guys look after the professional side of surfing. Visit their site at www.aspworldtour.com

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Barrel
A barrel is where the wave is hollow when it is breaking. For some surfers it's the be all and end all of surfing. Sometimes called a Tube.

Beach Break
A wave that breaks over the sandy sea bed. You've not read up about Waves have you.

Beach Leech
The perfect description of a beach leech: "Some people don't bring their own boards, and prefer to borrow your extra boards (they don't rent). And for wax, some don't really bring it. They just ask for some."

Bells Beach
Bells Beach is one of the great right point breaks. Find it on the south Victorian coastline of Australia. Check out the Bells Beach Pro held in March every year. Setting for that tearful end bit in point break when Patrick (twinkletoes) Swayze AKA Bodie ate it at the end of Point Break. (And no doubt that after reading the Waves page and finding out what a point break actually is you are feeling particularly chuffed with yourself!)
(It should also be pointed out that it was not actually Bells Beach where the scene was filmed but India Beach in Oregon - thanks to Danny from Oregon for this info)

Billabong
What Australians call a watering hole, but to everyone else it is one of the largest surfing equipment and clothing manufacturers out there.

Bitchin'
Old school for really good, enjoyable.

Blown Out
Where the onshore wind turns the surf in to unrideable mush.

Board
The fibreglass thingy under your feet.

Boardshorts / Boardies
Board shorts - check the men's boardshorts here and the women's boardshorts here. Quick drying, lightweight and worn by those lucky enough to be surfing in warm water.

Bottom Turn
The turn made at the base of the wave when coming down off the face. Often the first move made after dropping in. Get it right for great positioning for your next manovever.

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Carve / Carving
The classic surfing manoeuvre. Basically what turning on a wave is called. Carve is also a surfing magazine found in Europe.

Caught Inside
A surfer who is too far in and the waves are breaking further out. Can be dangerous in big surf.

Chinese Wax Job
Getting wax on the bottom of your surfboard.

Choka
Bitchin', awesome, great etc...

Chowder
Used to describe the pollution conditions when there's a turd in the lineup -
"I caught some sick waves out there but it was hard trying not to swallow the chowder"

Clidro
A description of the process where a surfer turns up and down the face of the wave while surfing down the line.

Close Out
Where a wave breaks along its length all at once.

Clucked
Being scared of afraid of waves

Corduroy
Swell lines that look like corduroy. See this corduroy swell picture that illustrates it perfectly.

Cross Step / Stepping
The art of walking up and down a longboard - walking foot over foot. When you see some guy / gal running up and down their board you'll now know what to call it.

Cutback
Reversing the direction that you are surfing in one smooth fluid move. (That's the idea anyway).

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my wave!...my wave!!....MY WAVE!!!!

Deck
The bit of the surboard you stand on. (hopefully you have your board the right way round in the water)

Ding
Surfboard damage. "Oh dear me, I've dinged my board" (perhaps a little more profanity will be used)

Drop In
Dropping in is a crime in the surf world. A drop-in is where a surfer catches a wave where he / she does not have priority. I.E. there is already a surfer on the wave. Please see diagram above. Remember - it's a CRIME!

Duck dive / duck diving
Diving under an oncoming wave when paddling out. See duck diving in full detail in Surfing Lesson Three - duck diving.

Dude
Dude, we almost forgot dude! Dude can mean pretty much anything depending on the tone and inflection.(thanks go to Corey Ferguson for this one)

Dumping
Often caused by onshore conditions, where a wave will fold over in big sections, making it un-surfable

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Eat It
Wiping out on a wave.

Endless Summer
Endless Summer is the absolute classic surfing movie. Forget all this new school tricky stuff. Watch this movie and if you are not a surfer before viewing you will certainly want to be after. I cannot emphasise how good this is - WATCH IT (even the other half will enjoy it!!!). Check out this video and others at the Surf Video page.

Epic
Top class surf or extremely good waves. Description of an awesome wave or surf session.

Eskimo Roll
(See Turtle Roll)

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Fakie
Riding backwards on the surfboard, tail first. Also what you are if you are only reading this page so you can pretend that you are a surfer.

FCS
FCS stands for Fin Control System. This is a type of fin that is fully removable from the surfboard. Ideal if you break a fin (you don't have to get a new on glassed back on),or if you are travelling (remove the fins to keep your board from being damaged).

Fin
The fin is the curved bit hanging down under your surfboard that you keep bashing when you tie your surfboard to the roof of your car. Sometimes called a Skeg.

Firing
The same as Going Off - where the surf is really good and the waves are breaking really nicely.

Foamies
Used for both whitewater waves and also surfboards that are made out of foam (ideal for beginners).

Foil
rate of change of thickness of a surfboard from the nose to the tail.

Frube
A surfer who does not catch a wave for the whole time they are in the water.

Funboard
A mid length surfboard, often know as a minimal. See funboard examples here.

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Goofy / Goofy Foot
Surfing with your right foot forward.

Gidget
The nickname of the title character created in a novel by Frederick Kohner (and adapted for three further films). Gidget is a contraction of "girl midget" which is why it went on to be used to describe small female surfers.

Glassy
Ultra clean surf without a ripple - looks like glass. Click to see a glassy wave.

Goat Boater
Derogatory term for kayakers and waveskis.

Green Room
Inside the tube, barrel.

Grommet / Grom
Cute doggie character in the Nick Park animation creations (and they are really rather good!). Also the term used to describe a young surfer.

Grubbing
Falling off your board while surfing.

Gul
British surfing equipment manufacturer.

Gun
A surfboard designed for big waves.

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Hang Ten
Riding a longboard with both feet right on the nose of the board. Also the name of a longboard magazine.

Heavy
Heavy has a couple of meanings. When used as in 'Heavy Waves' it means big, gnarly, kick ass waves. Teahupoo, Mavericks and Pipeline are three waves that would have to be described as heavy with a capital H. The same term can be used to describe the locals at a spot (for the same kick ass reason!).

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Impact Zone
The spot where the waves are breaking.

In the Soup
A term used when a surfer is in the white foam of the wave after the wave has broken.

Indo
Slang for Indonesia - home of some classic surf spots and a top surf trip destination.

Instinct
Popular brand of surf clothing.

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Jeffrey's Bay / J Bay
South African surf break of the highest calibre. One of the worlds most famous, high quality right handers. (Don't know what a right hander is then go learn your waves - have a look at the section on Waves.

Junkyard Dog
A surfer with poor style. A surfer who only surfs crappy waves.

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Keg
Another word for a barrel / tube.

Kneeboarding
A Surfing spin-off - riding the waves on your knees on a special knee board.

Kook
A beginner or someone who is not very good at surfing.

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Layback
A surfing manoeuvre where the surfer literally lays backwards on a wave. One of surfing's more extreme tricks.

Leash
The cord that is attached between your leg and your surfboard. For more information click leash. Find out about how to attach your surfboard leash.

Legrope
See Leash above.

Line Up
The Line Up is the place just outside the breacking waves where surfers wait for their waves.

Locked In
When a wave crashes and the surfer is inside of it.

Lull
Where the ocean goes flat between sets and everyone sits around waiting for the waves to arrive.

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Mavericks
Famous big wave spot off the Californian coast. Not to be confused with the film 'Maverick', starring Mel Gibson, although you need to be pretty brave to tackle both.

Men In Grey Suits
SHARKS!!!!!

MR
Multi world champ and all round surfing legend Mark Richards

Mullering
Wipe-out of the highest order.

Mush / Mushburger
Poor quality, slow or non-powerful waves. Often onshore.

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