Descriptionary

angling riding across a wave instead of directly toward shore.

axe a serious wipeout.

backhand surfing with one's back facing the wave.

bail out to leap off the surfboard just before wiping out.

barney a new surfer or one with poor skills.

barrel inside the hollow of a breaking wave. Also known as a tube.

blown out referring to waves that have been turned into unridable chop by the wind.

body surfing floating on or riding a wave without a board.

bomb an extremely large wave.

boogie board a small foam board that a rider kneels or lies on to surf waves.

choppy broken wave conditions that make it dif­ficult or impossible to surf.

cutback a very sharp turn back toward the breaking part of a wave.

face the part of a wave that is ridden by surfers.

forehand surfing while facing the wave. Also known as front side.

goofy-footed riding with the right leg forward, most commonly used by left-handed surfers.

hang five to curl the toes of one foot over the nose of the board.

hang ten to curl the toes of both feet over the nose of the board.

jacking the sudden rise or steepening of a swell as it passes from deep water to shallow.

jake a beginner who causes problems for other surfers.

kick out to leave a wave by riding up over the top of it.

kiteboarding surfing on a small board while being towed by a kite. Also known as kite surfing.

leash a board tether attached to the surfer's ankle.

mushy any weak, low waves.

natural-footed a stance in which the left leg is for­ward, typical for a right-handed surfer.

nose the front of a surfboard.

nose ride riding on the front of a board.

overhead referring to waves taller than the surfer, with double overhead being twice the surfer's height, and triple overhead being three times the height.

over the falls one of the worst types of wipeout, when a surfer crashes down with the lip of a breaking wave and is driven into the seafloor.

pearl a wipeout caused by the front of the board dip­ping into the water, a hazard of riding on a steep wave.

pocket the steepest part of a wave, just in front of the breaking portion.

rail the sides of a board.

rip current a strong, reverse current that pulls.

roundhouse cutback a sharp, 180° turn back toward the broken part of a wave.

set a group of waves.

shortie a wetsuit with short arms and legs.

shoulder the edge of a breaking wave.

soup the whitewater portion of any breaking or broken wave.

switchfoot changing one's normal stance to the opposite stance.

tail the rear of a surfboard.

360 three-sixty; a trick in which the board is whipped around 360° on a breaking wave.

tube the inside of a breaking wave; the barrel. Also, as a verb, to ride inside a wave.

wet suit a neoprene outfit worn to keep surfers warm in cold conditions.

tennis

ace a perfectly placed serve that an opponent is unable to return.

ad in short for advantage in.

ad out short for advantage out.

advantage in in the server's advantage; the point won by the server after deuce.

advantage out the receiver's advantage; the point won by the receiver after deuce.

alley along either side of the court, the long, addi­tional area used only in doubles play.

approach shot a shot that allows a player to move toward the net.

attack the net to move quickly toward the net for a volley or a kill shot.

Australian grip a grip halfway between the eastern and the continental.

backcourt the rear portion of the court, between the baseline and the service line.

backhand a stroke taken from the left side of a right-handed player's body (opposite for a lefty).

backspin reverse spin on a ball.

baseline the line marking the ends of the court.

baseline judge one of two linesmen who watch the baseline and call balls out of play.

blitz to bombard an opponent with a quick succes­sion of fast, hard shots.

block volley to return a ball without swinging the racket; letting the ball bounce passively off the face of the racket.

break to win a game against the server.

break point the point that will win a game against the server.

butt the end of a racket handle. cannonball a fast, hard serve.

carry literally to carry or hold the ball in play on one's racket, a penalty situation resulting in the loss of the point.

centerline the line dividing the service boxes.

changeover the switching of courts by the opposing players after every odd game in a set.

chip a soft, backspinning shot that dips and barely clears the net. Also known as a dink.

chop a shot made by a chopping swing of the racket, which imparts the ball with heavy spin.

clay court a court surface made of clay.