Artificial Reef

A man-made attempt at duplicating a natural reef in order to produce surfable waves in an area that otherwise would not have surf.
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Minus Tide

A very low, low tide that is below sea level (sea level is at a tide level of “0 ft.”)
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Locked in

Being in a critical position on a wave with no where to go - the surfer just goes hard and fast to avoid being consumed by the wave.
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Pounded

Same as getting “munched” or “crushed” or “wrecked”, or even “slammed”.
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Hoot

A positive yell of approval or props to another surfer, usually after some well executed maneuver.
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Foamer or Foam Rider

Someone who rides the whitewash (i.e. where the wave has already broken). This is where most newbies begin to learn how to stand up on their board.
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Drift

Moving with the current. Experienced surfers usually pick a spot on the shore and make sure they're not drifting too far from their spot.
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Jack / Jack Up

When a wave hits a shallower spot or a reef and instantly grows in size, usually also causing it to break. An alternate definition is when something (like your car or your board) get “all jacked up” - it means messed up, broken, trashed.
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Cowabunga!

Pronounced "cow-a-buhng'-a". A nonsensical exclamation, similar to saying the expression “hot diggity”. Example: “Cowabunga! That was some great surf”.
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Poser

Someone who doesn't really surf, but dresses and acts as if they do.
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Duck Dive

A technique for getting past an oncoming wave as a surfer is paddling out. The nose of the board is pushed down under the breaking wave and then turned upwards towards the back of the wave, which lets the force of the wave pass over the board and the paddler without knocking them back towards the shore.
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Ebb Flow or Ebb Tide

When the water level is moving from high tide towards low tide.
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Paddling Gloves

Webbed gloves (i.e. gloves with material between the fingers) that are used to increase paddling power.
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Angling

An older term used to describe riding across the face of the wave.
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Egg

Refers to a short round shaped board.
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Mondo

Pronounced "mahn'-doh". Big, lots, abundant.
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Gyrator

Pronounced "jiy'-ray-tor". A surfer who insists on aggressively wiggling the board back and forth and up and down trying to maintain forward movement on a wave.
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Beached Whale

Derogatory term used to refer to a large person laying on the beach.
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Butt Breach

When a bathing suit is hanging low showing too much butt crack.
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Stand-up Tube

A tube ride where the surfer can stand totally upright without being hit by the breaking wave or lip.
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Backside Air

When a surfer's back is to the wave and both the board and surfer launch into the air and are no longer touching the wave.
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Backside Rail Grab

Grabbing the outer rail of the board while surfing backside. Used to keep the board turned in a position to keep in the fast middle part of the face.
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Take-off Point

This is the point where the wave first breaks and where a surfer wants to catch the wave.
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Spinout

When the fin on a board loses its grip in the water (like when making a really sharp turn) and causes the board to break loose from the wave and to “spinout”.
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Regular Foot

Refers to a surfer who rides the board with their left foot forward and right foot back. The opposite (i.e. right foot forward and left foot back) is called “goofy foot”.
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Reef rash

When a surfer gets too close to the reef and gets all scraped up. Not really a rash, but the small scrapes and resulting scabs can appear as a rash – hence the name.
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Standing Wave

When water is flowing very fast and hits against a stationary object to form a continuous wave – such as would be seen on a fast moving river. This is also the idea behind the indoor surf machines.
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Beater

Can be used to describe just about anything (a board, a car, and towel) that shows a lot of wear, like it's been beaten up - it's a beater.
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