Every profession has its colloquial speech, and trucker lingo sounds very entertaining. It`s a secret language of the truckers.

They communicate with CB radio to inform each other of hazards and to pass the time on long drives.

Do you want to talk like a trucker? We have made a list of the most common truck driver phrases.

Common phrases

A

“Alligator” – blown tire on the road
“Anteater” – Ken worth T-600
“All locked up” – a weigh station is closed

B

“Bear” – police officer
“Baby Bear” – Rooky cop
“Bear in the air” – Police helicopter
“Bear trap” – Speed trap
“Bear bite” – Speeding ticket
“Bear cave” – Police station
“Bear rolling discos” – A speeding police car with its lights flashing
“Big slab” – interstate
“Black eye” – the headlight is out
“Bulldog” – Mack tractor
“Bambi” – Deer
“Billy Big Rigger” – A trucker who brags about themselves or their truck
“Bird Dog” – A radar detector
“Bubba” – Something you can call other drivers in a jokingly way
“Back door” – Behind you
“Backed Out Of It” – If the driver cannot maintain their speed, they might need to downshift.
“Back Row” – The back row or rows of parking in a rest area or truck stop
“Buster brown” – UPS truck
“Blinkin winkin” – School bus
“Bumper Sticker” – A vehicle that is tailgating another vehicle
“Bundled out” – A vehicle that is fully or over loaded or is at maximum capacity
“Barley pop” – Beer
“Bikini state” – Florida
“Blew my doors off” – Passed with Great Speed
“Backslide” – Return trip
“Back off the Hammer” – Slow Down
“Brush your teeth and comb your hair” – Get ready, there’s an officer shooting his radar gun up ahead

C

“Chicken coup” – Weigh station
“Cabbage” – A steep hill grade in Oregon
“Comic Book” – The log book
“County mounty” – Sheriff
“City kitties” – Local police
“Checkpoint Charlie” – Police checkpoint placed to look for intoxicated drivers, drivers with invalid licenses
“Cash box” – Toll booth
“Coal bucket” – Truck with a trailer for hauling coal, especially an end-dump trailer
“Covered Wagon” – A Tarp Trailer
“Checking your eyes for pinholes” – Being tired
“Clean shot” – A road free of obstructions, construction, or police officers
“Coming in Loud & Proud” – Strong CB signal
“Chicken Lights” – Extra lights on a truck
“Comedian” – Center median strip

D

“Double nickel” – driving 55 miles per hour
“Draggin Wagon” – A tow truck also called A Wrecker
” Drop and Hook” – The process of dropping off a trailer a then picking up a replacement trailer at a destination.
“Deadhead” – Pulling an empty trailer
“Drawing Lines” – Completing a log book
“Downstroke” – Driving downhill
“Decoy” – A police car without an occupant, sometimes left near the road to enforce good driving behavior or because the officer is elsewhere
“Dream Weaver” – A tired driver who is weaving between lanes or within a lane while traveling on the road
“Diesel Cop” – DOT
“Dragon Fly” – A truck who “drags” up a hill and “flies” down

E

“Evel Knievel” – Police officer on a motorcycle
“Eyeball” – To see something

F

“Fox in the hen house” – Unmarked police vehicle
“Fender Bender” – An accident
“Feeding the Bears” – Paying a ticket
“Fingerprint” – Unloading a trailer by yourself
“Flip-flop” – A return trip or a U-turn
“Free Truck Wash” – Rain
“Full Bore” – A truck traveling at full speed
“Fog line” – The white line on the side of the highway, used as a guide when you can’t see anything else

G

“Got your ears on?” – Are you listening?
“Go-go juice” – Diesel fuel
“Green Machine” – A Military vehicle
“Gear Jammer” – Someone who speeds up and slows down frequently
“Got my nightgown on” – A driver is in their sleeper and is getting ready to go to sleep
“Granny Lane” – The slower lane on a highway
“Georgia Overdrive” – A dangerous driving maneuver in which the transmission is put into neutral on a downgrade, allowing the truck to go extremely fast
“Greasy” – The road is icy or slippery
“Greasy Side Up” – A vehicle that has flipped over
“Ground Clouds” – Fog
“Green stamps” – Money
“Go to the Harley” – Turn your CB to Channel 1
“Grossed out” – The gross vehicle weight is at maximum capacity
“Gumball machine” – The lights on top of a patrol car
“Gators” – Busted tires on the side of every highway

H

“Hammer Lane” – The fast lane or passing lane
“Hammer down” – Go fast, step on it
“Having Shutter Trouble” – Having difficulty keeping your eyes open or staying awake
“Holler” – Call me
“Hundred mile coffee” – very strong coffee
“Hairpin” – A sharp curve in the road. Trucks can tip over on these if they are traveling too fast for conditions
“Handle” – A unique name used on the radio to identify a speaker. Truckers choose their own handles
“Harvey Wallbanger” – A driver who is driving recklessly or appears to be drunk
“Hauling Fence Post Holes” – Hauling an empty truck
“Hole in the Wall” – A tunnel
“Hundred Dollar Lane” – The far left lane in highly populated areas. Truckers may face a hefty fine for driving in these lanes
“Ho Chi Minh Trail” – Refers to California Highway 152, known for its abundance of accidents.
“Home 20” – A driver’s home location

I

“In the big hole” – The top gear of the transmission

J

“Juice Box” – A tanker hauling perishable liquids preferably juice
“Jet Pilot” – A speeding vehicle

K

“Kojak with a Kodak” – Police officer running radar
“Kiddy Car” – A school bus
“Keying up” – Talking all the time on the channel, cutting other truckers off in the process

L

“Lumper” – Someone that will help load/unload trailers typically wanting cash in return
“Lane Flipper” – Someone who is repeatedly changing lanes
“Lollipop” – The small reflector or marker poles on the sides of the highway

M

“Mama Bear” – Female police officer
“Meat Wagon” – An ambulance
“Motion Lotion” – Diesel fuel
“Mud Duck” – A weak radio signal
“Magic Mile” – The last mile of a trip

P

“Pay the Water Bill” – Going to the bathroom
“Plain Wrapper” – An unmarked police car
“Pickle Park” – Rest area
“Pigtail” – The electrical connection from the tractor to the trailer

R

“Reefer” – Refrigerated van trailer
“Roger” – Ok
“Rolling refinery” – A tanker truck, typically carrying fuel
“Rambo” – A person who talks aggressively or acts tough on the radio
“Re-Power” – One truck taking the load from another
“Rockin’ chair” – A truck that’s in the middle of two other trucks
“Runnin’ you across” – The weigh station is open, and they’re weighing trucks

S

“Salt shaker” – A truck that salts highways
“Skateboard” – Flatbed trailer
“Smokey with a Customer” – Driver getting busted by a police officer and given a ticket
“Sandbagging” – Another way to describe when someone is listing to the radio but is not talking on the radio
“Shiny side up” – Safe travels; drive safe; keeping the vehicle upright
“Skins” – Tires
“Show Off Lane” – The left-hand passing lane
“Sesame street” – CB Channel 19
“Shake the Bushes” – Run ahead of others to lure out the bears
“Stand on it” – Stand on the fuel pedal
“Stagecoach” – A tour bus
“Suicide jockey” – A driver hauling a dangerous substance, like fuel, explosives, etc
“Stack them eights” – So long, and good luck

T

“Toothpicks” – A load of lumber
“Taco stand” – Border patrol check stations on the Mexico–United States border
“Travel agent” – Dispatcher
“Turtle Race” – A zone with a speed limit under 45 miles per hour
“Triple digit ride” – Truck that can exceed 100MPH
“Turkey day” – Thanksgiving
“Through the woods” – Taking the back roads

U

“UFO Central” – Roswell, New Mexico, Nevada State Route 375, and Area 51 or any area where UFOs have been sighted

V

“Van Gough” – A vehicle without a CB radio

W

“Wally World” – Walmart
“White Stuff” – Snow
“Wiggle Wagons” – Double or triple trailer trucks

Y

“Yard stick” – Mile marker
“Yard” – Trucking terminal

Z

“Zipper” – The dashed lane divider

Names for cities

“Big A” – Amarillo, Texas
“A-Town” – Atlanta, Georgia
“B Town” – Birmingham, Alabama
“K-Town” – Knoxville, TN
“Bean-Town” – Boston, Massachusetts
“Big Apple” – New York
“Windy-City” – Chicago, Illinois
“Choo-Choo” – Chattanooga, Tennessee
“The Dome” – Houston, Texas
“Shaky-Town” – Los Angeles, California
“Derby City” – Louisville, Kentucky
“Beer Town” – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Guitar” – Nashville, Tennessee
“Bright Lights” – Kansas City, Kansas
“Gateway” – St. Louis, Missouri
“Cigar City” – Tampa, Florida
“The Big D” – Dallas, Texas
“Rock city” – Little Rock, Arkansas
“Queen city” – Charlotte, North Carolina
“Motor city” – Detroit, Michigan
“Indy 500” – Indianapolis, IN
“Alamo city” – San Antonio, Texas
“Bull city” – Durham, North Carolina
“Watermelon 500” – Atlanta

Terms

“10-1” – Receiving poorly
“10-2” – Receiving well
“10-3” – Stop transmitting
“10-4” – Message received, OK
“10-5” – Relay message
“10-6” – Busy; stand by
“10-7” – Signing off
“10-8” – In service
“10-9” – Last transmission not received; repeat the message
“10-10” – Transmission completed
“10-11” – Talking too rapidly
“10-12” – Visitors present
“10-13” – Weather/road conditions
“10-16” – Make pickup
“10-17” – Urgent Business
“10-18” – Anything for us
“10-19” – Nothing for you
“10-20” – Another word for location
“10-21” – Call by telephone
“10-22” – Report in-person to…
“10-23” – Pay attention
“10-24” – Completed last assignment
“10-25” – Can you contact
“10-26” – Disregard the last statement
“10-27” – I am moving to channel..
“10-28” – Identify your station
“10-29” – Time is up for contact
“10-30” – Does not conform to FCC rules
“10-32” – I will give you a radio check
“10-33” – Emergency traffic
“10-34” – Trouble at this station
“10-35” – Confidential information
“10-36” – The correct time is…
“10-37” – Wrecker needed at…
“10-38” – Ambulance needed at
“10-39” – Your message delivered
“10-41” – Please tune to channel
“10-42” – Traffic accident at..
“10-43” – Traffic tie up at
“10-44” – I have a message for you
“10-45” – All units please report
“10-50” – Break channel
“10-62” – Unable to copy, use a phone
“10-65” – Awaiting your message or assignment
“10-67” – All units comply
“10-70” – Fire at…
“10-71” – Continue with the transmission in sequence
“10-73” – Speed trap at..
“10-75” – You are causing interference
“10-77” – Negative contact
“10-84” – My telephone number is..
“10-85” – My home address is
“10-91” – Talk closer to the microphone
“10-92” – Your transmitter is acting up
“10-93” – Check my frequency
“10-94” – Please give me long count
“10-95” – Transmit dead carrier for 5 seconds
“10-99” – Mission completed
“10-100” – Need to go to the bathroom
“10-200” – Police needed at…
“3s and 8s” – Well wishes to a fellow driver
“10 in the wind” – Listening to the CB while driving
“18, or 18 wheeler” – A truck with a total of 18 tires
“What`s your 20?” – What is your location?

Do you know more trucking slang? Let us know in the comments below.