Surfer terms dictionary
Air/Aerial: is the result of a very skilled maneuver where one is actually in the air after being on the top of the wave.
A frame: big wave with different shoulders on each side of the peak, looks like the letter A
Aggro: short for an aggressive surfer
Amped: a person that is very enthusiastic about surfing
Ankle slop: waves that are too small for surfing
ASP: Association of Surfing Professionals
Backhand/backside: refers to the surfer’s position related to the wave, you have your back at the wave and you are looking at the shore
Bail/bail out: to give up a surfboard while in the water because of the high waves or not managing to ride the wave
Barrel/tube/shack-tar: part of a breaking wave where one cannot be seen from the shore
Beach break: terms that defines the type of waves; these waves are found on sand bottom beaches
Body surfing: type of surfing where one uses his or her body for surfing
Board/surf board: the board one uses to surf
Caught in a fish net: not a good day for a surfer who cannot stay on the board and /or ride a wave
Choppy: term that describes the waves and the sea because of windy conditions;
Close out: term used to describe waves that cannot be ridden across
Cooking: describes the best surfing conditions in terms of weather and waves
Crew: several surfers who hang out in the same area
Deck: the name of the part of the board to stand on
Ding/ dent: when the surfboard is not perfect anymore the dimple, trace or fissure is called a ding
Drop in: breaking the surf rules by catching a wave in a spot where there is already another surfer.
Duck dive/duck diving: a way of passing through a breaking wave while paddling
Eat it: to lose a board because of a wave
Epic: term used to describe a wonderful surf day
Eskimo roll/ turtle roll: a way of passing through breaking waves while still being away from the shore
Endless summer: a must see movie for all surf enthusiasts
Face: onward facing section of a wave, the section of the wave that did not break
Fin: part of the board that helps one from gliding to one side; most of the board have three fins, but some have two, four or even five fins.
Flat/flat spell: water with no waves whatsoever
Forehand/frontside: positioned with the face toward the wave
Funboard: type of surfboard with length size in between the shortboard and the longboard
Glass house / green room: the interior of a tube
Goofy foot/ goofy: describing a person that uses the right foot first instead of the left foot.
Gun: type of board that is long and thin and it was especially designed for big waves
Hang five/hang ten: method of hanging on the board by using your toes
Hold down: the period of time a surfer is kept down by a wave
Iced: the ideal execution of a wave
Impact zone: the spot in which the waves split
ISA: short for the International Surfing Association
Kneeboarding: type of surfing where you do not stand up on the board
Leash: string that attaches to the board to prevent one from losing the board if thrown off it
Lip: the section of the wave at the top
Localism: when local surfers are unfriendly with visiting surfers
Longboard/ mat: type of board used for surfing on certain beaches, type of surfing
Men in grey suits: synonym for sharks in the surf culture
Mush/mushy: small waves that are not good for surfing
Nose: the tip of the surf board
Nose guard: rubber put at the front of the board to minimize injuries of others
Nose ride: term used to describe when the surfer rides on the nose of the board
Offshore: refers to the direction of the wind, the wind blows out to sea
Onshore: refers to the direction of the wind, the wind blows out from the sea, thus the conditions for surfing are not good.
Over the falls: surfer that drops from the crest of the wave to the base of it in one movement
Peak: the part of the wave that gives a surfer the choice of going either side from take off
Pin tail: type of surf board that has a rounded back
Pull in: method of rotating the surf board to make it go into the tube
Quad: type of surf board with four fins
Quiver: name given to a collection of surf boards
Quicksilver: famous brand for surf gear
Rail: part of a surf board, it is the side of the board and it can come in two types of rails: soft or hard
Regular foot: opposite of goofy foot
Rip/rip current: a current that sets out to the sea
S.A.S.: short for Surfers Against Sewage
Set: two or more waves that follow one after the other
Sex wax: name of a surf board wax
Square tail: type of back of surf board that is not rounded like a pin tail
Surf board/stick: board used for surfing, comes in different sizes and shapes
Take off: the process of catching a wave and riding on it.
Thruster: name of the surf board that has three fins
Tight: surf board that is difficult to turn
Wax: chemical used for surf boards
Wetsuit: gear used for surfing especially when the weather is colder
Wipe out: expression used to describe the action of falling off the board
