"You know who that is? That's Mr. Evil Knievel. He snuck in my back door, son, when I wasn't lookin'. You better flip-flop back here and gimme' a hand, son, or we gonna be in a heap of trouble. Please roger that transmission!"
Whether you've found yourself searching Kijiji for CB radio's lately or you've just always had aspirations to live up to Burt Reynolds character in Smokey and the Bandit, I bet that you're interested in learning about how to talk like a trucker.
Let's take a look at some of the key terminology truckers have been using to communicate on the roads for decades.
The Top Trucker Terms
Affirmative - Let's start with an easy one. Affirmative simply means "yes".
Alligator or Gator - A piece of tire on the road. A baby alligator is a small piece of tire and alligator bait is a number of small pieces of tire on the road.
Back it Down - Slow down.
Bear - Police. A Bear Bite is a speeding ticket and bear trap, of course, is a speeding trap. Bear bait is a speeding car that you can use to take the heat off of yourself.
Black Eye - A broken headlight.
Deadhead - A truck pulling an empty trailer.
Dragonfly - A truck with no power. Usually because it's climbing a steep hill.
Evil Knievel - A cop on a motorcycle.
Good buddy - This is used as a term for a homosexual.
Good neighbor - Used when showing appreciation to another trucker.
Hammer down - Put the pedal to the metal.
Mud Duck - Weak radio signal.
Negatory - No.
Parking Lot - A truck hauling cars.
Ratchet jaw - Someone who talks a lot on the radio and doesn't let anyone else talk.
Rockin' chair - A truck that's in between two other trucks.
Smokey or Smokey Bear - The police!
Taking Pictures - Police using a radar gun.
10-4 - Message received / Copy
Wagon - Trailer on a truck
These are some of the more common terms, just for fun let's put together a sentance that you might hear over the CB radio:
"You'd better back it down there's a gator on the road and a smokey is taking pictures at the 121"
Submit your comments and let us know what kind of sentances you can put together with trucker lingo!
