Editor's Corner

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed the mornings are starting to get darker and there are more school buses on the road now. It seems like summer has already ended, even though we have a few weeks left. Just so we don’t forget the fabulous times at the beach or out in the sun, let’s have a look at some surfing terms from page 635 of I Never Knew There Was a Word for It, by Adam Jacot de Boinod.

Hey Dude!

Surfers follow the waves; and though you can find something to ride on in Newquay [KC – In Cornwall, Great Britain.], they’re altogether bigger, better, and harder to stay on in Big Sur and Bondi…

· shark biscuit (Australian slang c.1910) a novice surfer

· hang five (US 1960s) to ride with the toes of one foot hooked over the front of the board

· knots the bruises and cuts gained from battling the waves and his board (a surfer’s status mark)

· grubbing falling off your board while surfing

· frube a surfer who does not catch a wave for the whole time they are in the water

· hodad (1962) a show-off who hangs around surfing beaches, boasting of his exploits and trying to pick up girls, who has rarely, if ever, tried to surf

· Cowabunga! (Australian slang 1954) a shout of elation on surfing down a superb wave

Bondi Beach (Sydney, Australia)

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services