Taco'd

Tailslide
A maneuver in which a surfer breaks the fins free from the water so the tail slides around quickly. A very difficult maneuver and somewhat counter-intuitive, since it's based on taking weight off the board, not pressurizing it. The surfer must stay above the surfboard, staying in physical contact to maintain control. Popularized in the early '90s by Kelly Slater and friends.

Tandem Surfing
The act of two people surfing together on a single board. Tandem riding was born at Waikiki. Over the years, it has evolved from a man and a woman standing together on a single board to a series of technical lifts and international competitions.

Take it Easy
Said in passing to suggest that one not get too stressed with life and take it as it comes.

Talk Story
The reciting of tales related to ones surfing experiences. When a crew gets together this can be quite an entertaining event, because these are generally loosely based on facts - at least in their mind.

Take-off
The beginning of a ride when the surfer paddles for a wave, and then pushes his/her body up to a standing position before he drops into the wave. The take-off is crucial for a successful ride as it sets the rhythm for the entire ride.

Tanker
A log; a thick, long, heavy surfboard.

Tanker Surfing
To ride the wake of a Super Tanker ship. When conditions are right, these heavily laden ships produce clean consistent waves of varying heights that can be ridden for very long distances.

Taped seams
Nylon tape is glued along the seams, covering up whatever stitching exists. Long considered a necessary evil to keep water out and add strength to the seams; often now only used at specific pressure points (see stress point taping) or replaced by liquid seam tape, a more flexible and perhaps equally durable option.

Tapioca Twizzler
Used to describe a person getting a sick barrel, tubed, shacked, or in the green room at a jetty, pier, or point break.

Tasty
Excellent, very good.

Template
A wooden sheet cut into an imaginary surfboard curve, used by a shaper or designer to draw outlines onto a blank prior to shaping. A template is made of thin plywood, plastic, or Masonite. The outline curve of one side of the template may be an outline for the nose of a surfboard, while the outline curve of the other side of the same template may be an outline for the tail section of the surfboard. Surfboard shapers typically create their own templates and come in all sizes and shapes depending on the type of surfboard to be shaped. See also outline.

Tertiary swell
The third dominant swell at a specific location. The primary swell is the dominant swell, followed by the secondary swell, followed by the tertiary swell.

Terrorize
When a surfer is dominating a particular surf spot and ripping it to shreds. 

Thas' Dirty
Something really sick or awesome.

Thickness
A surfboard's dimension as measured from the deck to the bottom of the board.

Thongs
Standard footwear for a surfer. Originally made of cheap foam and used for their low cost. They were improved in the '80s and are now called down right comfy, what we call "flip-flops."

Thrashed
What happens when a wave pounds you. Also, worked.