'The Class A Truckstop'
Trucker's Slang
Click
here for the FCC Rules for the CB.
Best viewed at 1024 x 768
alligator,
n. a piece of tire in road. looks like an alligator
sunning
itself across the road.
alligator
radio/station, n. a radio that can transmit well, but has
poor
receive - the radio is like an alligator in that it is "all mouth and
no
ears".
aardvark,
n. a Kenworth T-600 (also known as an anteater.
back
door, pron. behind you or to the rear ("you got a bear
about a mile back on your back door")
back
out, adj. I have finished talking and will now unkey. ("this
is [name] and I'm back out")
back
quiet, adj. I have finished my transmission and you
may
proceed when ready
bear,
n. generic term for a law enforcement officer
- full blown
bear,
state trooper
- countie
mountie,
sheriff's deputy
- city kitty,
city police
- diesel
cop/D.O.T.
man, D.M.V. enforcement (these guys pull four wheelers too!)
better
half, n. your spouse, ie. your wife/husband.
big
road, n. a major highway (I40,I85,I95, etc.)
big
truck, n. an 18 wheeler. More specifically, a long
nose
- cab over - all dudded up diesel truck.<
bird
dog, n. a radar detector
bobtail,
n. a cab with no trailer attached.
brake
check, v. traffic that is slowing down. It seems that
four wheelers will hit their brakes and slow down in the middle of the
interstate for no
apparent
reason, other than to make sure that their brakes still work, hence a
"brake
check".
break,
v. proper way to gain access to a busy channel (i.e.
"break
19 for a radio check")
boss
man, n. your immediate superior/supervisor at work
bubba,
n. a not-so-formal version of good neighbor
bull
city, n. Durham, NC
capital
city, n. Raleigh, NC
channel
9, n. "emergency channel"
channel
19, n. the unofficially official "truckers" channel.
chicken
coop, n.
weigh stations
container,
n. A shipping container from overseas ( "How about
that
south bound container. You got a copy?")
cottonpicker,
n. a male bonding term for a friend of yours (positive
sense) - can also be used as a mild insult, the equivalent of
"jerk" (derogatory
sense).
dead
head, v. to haul an empty truck. Driving empty means
you
usually are not getting paid for the trip, you have to drive
somewhere to get a load.
diesel
car, n. a "real" truck (18 wheeler)
do
what?, v. I did not copy/understand your last
transmission,
could you please repeat it ?
double
nickel, n.
means 55, usually in reference to inquiries about the speed limit.
driver,
n.
refers to the person you were talking to / the radio operator receiving
your transmissions.
eighty
fifth street, n.
refers to I85
fire
in the wire, n. this means an amplified AM transmission see
note 1 (see also foot warmer, side piece)
flat
bed, n. a flat bed truck
flip
flop, v.
a U-turn ( "Full blown bear did a flip - flop and is south bound and
hammered
down"). Can also mean the return trip (
i.e. "catch you on the
flip - flop").
FM,
n. am/fm radio ( the term radioby itself refers to the
CB )
foot
warmer, n. refers to a linear amplifier (see also side
piece, fire in the wire) note 1
forty
two, v. I understand and agree with you. ("Forty-Two,
driver, I heard that idea, I did!")
*four
wheeler, n. anyone who is not a trucker (specifically
- a car). This term is usually preceded bby ssome form of an expletive
(i.e. a "swear word")
as truckers are not always impressed by the way some four wheelers
drive.
This term is not always meant in
a bad way as truckers
call all cars four - wheelers
front
door, pron. in front of you or to the front ("you got
a bear about 2 miles on your front door")
gold
city, n. Goldsboro, NC
*good
buddy, n. a term no longer used unless you are
deliberately
trying to annoy someone (it now means homosexual)
good
neighbor, n. same as driver the person you are talking
with (this has replaced "good buddy")
hammer
lane, n. left lane of traffic
hammer
down, v., adj. vehicle moving fast ("smokey west bound
and hammered down"). Also make a car move fast ("Hammer
down driver").
hand,
n. same as driver. ("preeshaydit there hand.") I have
no idea where this came from, but they call each other things like Hand,
or Bubba, or Driver.
handle,
pron. your name on the CB radio - kind of a call sign
so that others recognize you.
happy
happy, n.
means happy new year ( "have a great happy happy")
home
twenty, n. dwelling. In particular, the person
talking's
house, apartment, condo, etc.
key
down, v. when you try to talk over someone that is
transmitting.
Also a type of competition where the biggest radio wins!
landline,
o. Telephone/ telephone call.
linear,
n. a linear amplifier. This is the type of amplifier
that
is used to amplify an AM transmission. note 1
local/local
information, n, call for local information (" break
for
some local information ").
log
book, n. it's a diary for truckers/one of the things
they
check at the chicken coops (4 wheelers wouldn't understand)
meatwagon,
n. name for an ambulance.
merry
merry, n. means merry Christmas (" have a wonderful
merry
merry")
modulator,
n. a type of amplifier used for AM transmissions. note
1
moving
on, v. means you have quit jabbin' and are now driving
(see also stepping on, rolling on)
mud
duck, n. a really weak/poor radio signal
ninety
fifth street, n. I95
nodamene?,
interj. do you understand what I am saying? (right?
works
here too )
no
doubt, interj. the truth of your last statement is
undeniable
parking
lot, n. a truck that is used to transport several cars
"piggy back"
pickemup
truck, n. a pick up truck
plain
wrapper, n. term for an unmarked police car....can
also
use color of car, ie. "blue wrapper" (see also bear).
preeshaydit,
adj. thank you very much
queen
city, n. Charlotte, NC
radio,
n. a CB, ie. "what kind of radio are you talking on?"
radio
check, n. a call to see if your radio is working
rascal,
n. term identifying a person that is known by the
speaker
("That rascal owes me money ").
REACT,
n. nation wide group of volunteers who monitor channel
9 for emergency traffic
readin'
the mail, v.
just listening to the CB ( not actively talking )
right?,
interj. what truckers end almost every sentence with
(it
seems they like to talk in questions)."ROGER" can be substituted
here.
roger,
interj. means "yes" or "OK"
rolling
on, v. same as steppin' on (not used that much)
sand
bagging , v. to listen in on a channel without talking
shoot
you in the back/tail pipe/gastank, v. police operating
radar (usually from an exit ramp) as you drive past them
short
short, n. a short amount of time
side
piece, n. also refers to a linear amplifier (see also
foot warmer, fire in the wire) note 1
skip,
n. CB ( and other short-wave frequencies ) tend to be
reflected from the atmosphere. These transmissions can be heard
many miles from the
source
of the transmission. This is called " skip " note 2
speed
limit, n. what a four wheeler is constantly unaware of
( besides being oblivious to surrounding traffic). A four wheeler will
travel five miles an
hour below the posted limit if a state trooper is following them,
because
it is suddenly extremely important that
they obey the law for
some reason (they haven't obeyed it before,why start now? )
stand
on it, v. accelerate with a quickness
stepping
on, v. means same as (see also moving on, rolling on)
taking
pictures, v. police operating a radar gun
ten-four,
pron. means "OK"/ "YES"
ten-twenty,
pron. location
ten-thirty
three, pron. emergency
ten-thirty
six, pron. call for correct time
turkey
day, n.
thanksgiving
turn
signal, n. a light on the back of a vehicle
which
indicates future direction of movement. This is the one piece of
equipment
that a four wheeler
will
only use if there is a police officer immediately behind him,
otherwise,
the four wheelers simply forget they have one ( although they
seem
to be aware that the cruise control is mounted on the little stick
thingy.)
walked
on ya, v. someone keyed up with you and your
transmission
was unintelligible
whachyathank?,
interj. similar to right? when used at the end of the
sentence ("I gotta go to work early tomorrow, whatchathank?").
yard,
n. name for the parking lot of a driver's company
("sitting
here in the yard, waiting to load up")
yardstick,
n. name for mile marker on major highways