McDowell Mountain Ranch Skate Park

Skateboard Slang

Skateboarding, like any major hobby, has a unique language that helps express and define its various tricks and obstacles. We’ve put this page together (with the help of Wikipedia) to help introduce residents of the Ranch to terms they may hear at our Skate Park. One caution, this is by no means a complete list because new terms are coined every day.

Slang terms

# Set/Stair A # set/stair (pronounced as a number + "set/stair") refers to a set of stairs. Skaters frequently ollie or perform tricks off of stairs. Stairs can be hard to come by, as many are privately owned. A common usage is, "let's go skate the 3-set."

3/4 Pipe - A half-pipe extended to the point where it resembles a full pipe with one quarter removed. It is not ridden the same way as a half-pipe is ridden.

5-0 - While the most common usage of this term is as a grind (the 5-0 grind), it is also used to refer to the police (a play on both the trick of the same name, and Hawaii Five-0).

Air - To propel oneself into the air without popping the board. The act of performing an air is known as "catching air."

Full Pipe - A full pipe is a piece of huge cement piping with a large diameter, often of ten feet or more. Skaters start at the bottom and gradually start getting higher and higher up the sides as they push back and forth. Pipe-riding is not common any more.

Half-Pipe - A U-shaped type of ramp that is ridden as part of Vert skating. Skaters drop in at one end, skate to the other side, to a trick on the other end, and repeat the back and forth motion. Half-Pipes are so-called because they resemble a full-pipe cut in half.

Kicker or Launch ramp A small ramp designed for catching air off of. Skaters usually just ride off them, ollie off them, or perform flip tricks off of them.

Old-School - Refers to a facet of skateboarding that is generally considered to be "extinct" or at least not a common practice in modern skateboarding. Many skate-boarders embrace their forefathers and to them, calling something old-school is a good thing, as in "That vert was OLD SCHOOL!"

Rail - Any long piece of metal or stone that is fit for grinding. Rails can be round or square, though square rails are common only in skateparks, where they are built for riding on. Skaters grind along rails. Rails that skaters commonly ride are handrails alongside stairs.

Ledge - Concrete such as a curb or park bench that is fit for grinding.

Wax - Skateboard wax is used for grinding. Some rails and ledges need to be waxed first to grind them. Alternatives include candles, crayons, etc.

Radical/Hammer/Banger - Excellent trick or demonstration of skill.

Roll-in - A type of ramp designed specifically for riding down. Skaters rarely perform tricks on these, nor do they ride up them (unless they are getting back up to the top for another run). These ramps are designed to give a skater maximum momentum as he rockets down them, so he gains enough speed to attempt large obstacles ahead.

Bust - 1. To bust a trick is perfectly executing trick, or performing a trick that the skateboarder has been working very hard to land. "You busted a perfect Smith grind!". 2. A spot that can no longer be skated. Often due to a high likelihood of being kicked out. "That spot is a bust now."

Slaughter - To "bust" a trick, only it is used more often than "bust" in the northern skateboarding territories (New England).

Vert - 1. The act of skateboarding on or in a skatepark. 2. a style of skating.

Mongo - To push the board with the less-than-normal pushing foot... for instance, if your stance was goofy you would push with your right foot.

Regular (stance) - To stand on the skateboard facing right and push with right foot.

Goofy (stance) - To stand on skateboard facing left and push with left foot.

Tag, Tagging - To mark your territory, via spraypaint.

Sick - Cool, "That was sick!"

Dirtpile - The act of doing something you have been forbidden to do.

Shred - To be good with instruments.

Please note that the now-separate subcultures of skating and surfing were once extremely tight-knit and frequently crossed over, as all skaters were surfers and vice versa. Therefore, many surfer words are common parts of a skater's vocabulary, regardless of whether or not the skater is also a surfer.