Skate Jargon

The world of Skateboarding has its own culture and vocabulary. The definition and usage of the Skateboarding jargon may vary depending on the location and situation they're used in, but the following terminology is universally accepted and understood among Skateboarders.

 

Air - An aerial trick.

Bail - A bail is when you fall or Jump off the board while trying to land a trick.

Brain bucket - A Helmet.

Board! - A phrase that is typically yelled to alert others when a board is shooting across a park.

Bomb A Hill - Going fast down a hill, that’s it, may sound simple but it’s just an amazing feeling.

Brute - Gnarly.

Burly - Going big with a trick.

Bussup - Landing a trick sketchy but still managing to roll away.

Bust - Used to describe a Skate spot where skaters have a high probability of getting kicked out, or a spot that is not Skateable for some other reason.

Butter - An obstacle that grinds or slides smoothly  or an adjective used to describe a trick that was performed very well.

Carve - A manoeuvre in which the Skater makes a long, curving arc.

Catch - When doing a flip trick and you catch the board with your feet before it hits the floor.

Cess Slide - The act of sliding sideways on all four wheels while on a transition.

Chip - When a piece of wood is broken off of the Skateboard Deck.

Concave - The contour given to decks. The concave will dip down from the left to right and should be asymmetrical. Provides strength to the board and aids the Skater when performing tricks.

Concrete Wave - Means Skateboarding (riding the concrete wave).

 

 

Demo - A skateboarding event with riding and gear demonstrations usually held in skateparks and skate shops.

Drop in - A way of entering a bowl or halfpipe from the top.

Eat it / Ate it - To fall off your board and crash.

Face plant - To fall off the board with the face on the ground before any other part of the body.

Fakie - To ride your skateboard backward.

Fingerboard - A miniature Skateboard toy that a person uses with their fingers.

First T - Term for “first try”, meaning the first attempt at doing a trick.

Flatspot - A flatspot is exactly what it sounds like, it's a flat spot on your wheel which results in a horrible noise which gets worse the faster you go.

Flow - Skateboarders who consistently receive free products from a company. This is typically the first step in becoming a professional Skateboarder.

Footage - Skateboarding captured on video.

Focus A Board - Jumping on, or putting your foot through the board to make it snap.

Fruitboots - An expression for inline Skates and Roller Blades.

Gnarly - Originally a surfing term but skaters use it to describe anything that is awesome, amazing or dangerous, crazy and downright reckless.

Goofy - A Skater that rides with his or her right foot forward.

Grom - A young Skater kid.

Grip Job - Term used to reference a Grip Tape design.

Grip Thumb - A common injury Skateboarders get where the tip or edge of their thumb is rubbed raw from grabbing the nose of their board and touching their grip tape.

Hang up - When either the back or front truck catches on an obstacle, usually causing a fall.

High Side - When the wheels grip up mid slide and throw you off your board forward, down the hill. Dangerous and no fun. Easy fix: lean back more.

Hot Pocket - A sharp pain felt in the front of the ankle caused by the foot being pushed upwards while landing.

Hyped - Excited.

Landing Bolts - To land a trick perfectly with the board secure and balanced under your feet.

Line - The route a rider chooses through a tricky section.

Local - A Skater who resides near or often frequents a Skate spot or Skatepark.

Lock In - The act of a Skateboarder securing their board or trucks board into a slide or grind position in a way that is most stable.

Low Side - When the wheels slide out more than you expected and the board shoots out from you. Holes in ya pants. Easy fix: lean forward over the board more.

Make - When you land the trick you have been trying for a while.

Mall Grab - A way in which someone carries or holds a Skateboard by the truck.

Mob - To have bad style.

Mongo - Pushing the Skateboard with the front foot while the back foot remains on the board.

Old School - Term used to describe a trick, Skater or pretty much anything that is representative of an older style.

On lock - If you can do a trick over and over consistently without trouble.

Poser - A Skater that tries to pretend to be what he or she is not.

Pro - Short for “professional”.

Pumping - Moving your body weight on your Skateboard to build speed without your feet touching the ground.

Rad - Short for radical.

Razor tail - When the tail of a Skateboard becomes sharp due to excessive scraping on the ground.

Regular - To ride with the left foot forward.

Ripper - A Skateboarder term referring to a really good and consistent skater.

Scrub a wheel - To remove "gunk" and residue from a new wheel.

Scorpion - A wipe out so harsh that one's feet nearly touch the back of one's head.

 

 

Sesh - A Skateboard session.

Shinner - A Skateboarding phrase referring to when the board hits the rider’s shin, usually resulting in a bruise.

Sidewalk Surfer - Another term for Skateboarder.

Sidewalk Surfing - Another term for Skateboarding.

Slam - Skateboard lingo for a hard fall.

Snake - A snake is somebody who will cut in front of other people at the Skatepark, or keep going when it isn’t their turn.

Spot - A term Skateboarders use to refer to any place that has something to Skate.

S.K.A.T.E - A game Skateboarders play, Someone starts off the game by doing a trick. If they miss, it’s the next person’s turn to try their own trick. If they land it, everyone else has to try it and whoever misses gets a letter. The winner is the last one not to spell out the full word S.K.A.T.E. 

Sketchy - A wobbly landing, your feet only just landing on the board, or the skate park could be badly made.

Stoked - To feel excited.

Steezy - A combination of the words "style" and "ease" meant to praise a stylish and perfectly executed trick or manoeuvre.

Tech - A Skateboarding style that involves highly complex freestyle tricks and manoeuvres performed on flat surfaces.

Wheel bite - Term referring to when too much weight is applied to one side of the board either while turning or landing a trick, causing the bottom of the deck to touch a wheel and stop its rotation, usually resulting in the board stopping abruptly and the rider being tossed off.

Wheelburn - A mark left on the bottom of a Skateboard deck caused by the board’s wheels scraping when too much weight is applied to one side.

Wipeout - To fall off the Skateboard or crash.

Yew - Used to show excitement.