Trucker Slang

Alabama Chrome - Duct tape

Anteater - Sloped hood on big truck

Alamo, the - San Antonio, TX

Alligator - Blown tire in road

Alligator Radio - Loudmouth CB’er(all mouth, no ears)

Ankle Biter - Small child

Antler Alley - Deer crossing

Apple, the - New York, NY

Armadillo, the - Amarillo, TX

Astrodome, the - Houston, TX

Baby Bear - Rookie cop

Back Door - Last truck in a convoy; behind you

Back Door Closed - Police behind you or behind a convoy

Back ‘er Down - Slow down

Back off the Hammer - Slow down

Backslide - Return trip

Badger, the - Wisconsin

Bambi - Any deer, dead or alive

Band Aid Buggy - Ambulance

Barbershop - Low overpass

Barefoot - An unmodified CB radio

Barn doors - Rear swing-out truck doors

Base station - Radio at a fixed location

Bean popper - Pill taker

Bear - Any police officer

Bear Bait - Excessive speeder

Bear Cave - Police station

Bear Trap - Stationary police withradar/laser

Bear-in-the-air - Police aircraft commonly used in speed trap

Beantown - Boston, MA

Bedbugger - Household goods mover

Beehive, the - Utah

Beer Town - Milwaukee, WI

Belly Dumper - Trailer with a bottom dump

Better Half - Spouse

Big A, the - Atlanta, GA; Amarillo, TX

Big Apple, the - New York, NY

Big D, the - Dallas, TX

Big Easy - New Orleans, LA

Big O, the - Omaha, NE

Big R - Roadway Express truck

Big Road; Slab - Interstate highway

Big Truck - 18 wheeler

Big Road - Interstate highway; four lane road

Big Smoke, the - Toronto, ON

Big Word - Weigh station closed

Bikini, the - Miami, FL; Florida

Bird dog - Radar/laser detector

Black Eye - Headlight out

Blew my doors off - Passed at a high speed

Bluebird - Marten company truck

Bluegr**** the - Kentucky

Bobtail - Tractor without anattached trailer

Boogie; Boogie Gear - Top gear

Brake Check - Warning of slow or stopped traffic ahead

Bright Lights, the - Kansas City, KS

Buckeye, the - Ohio

Bull City, the - Durham, NC

Bulldog - Mack truck

Bull Rack - Cattle hauler

Bumper Sticker - Tailgating four wheeler

Bushels - Weight of load in 1000’si.e. 43 bushels = 43,000 pounds

Buster Brown - UPS truck

 

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