The ABCs of Trucker Lingo (2024)

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A new alphabet for you to learn!

We’ll keep this short and sweet.

It seems as though every industry has their own language. Although, in the trucking industry, there are no lack of secret terms in the truck driver glossary. Here’s our ABCs of trucker lingo!

Alligator – A piece of tire on the road, usually from a blown tire.
Bear – A law enforcement officer, but usually a State Trooper or Highway Patrol.
Choke and Puke – A truck stop/restaurant.
Dragon Wagon – A tow truck.
Evil Knievel – A police officer on a motorcycle.
Freight shaker – A Freightliner truck (If you’re looking to drive one… Magnum has some with your name on it!)
Greasy – Icy or slippery road conditions.
Hammer down – Means to go fast, or to step on the gas!
Invitation – Traffic citation.
Jet Pilot –A speeding vehicle.
Keep the Shiny Side Up – Have a safe trip!
Local-Yokel – A city police officer.
Meat Wagon – Ambulance.
Negatory – Negative, or no.
Over Your Shoulder – Coming up behind you.
Paying the Water Bill – Stopping to use the bathroom.
Queen City – Charlotte, North Carolina.
Reefer – A refrigerated van trailer.
Skateboard – A straight, flatbed trailer.
Ten-4; 10-4 – OK.
UFO Central – Roswell, New Mexico.
Veteran Driver – A “Seasoned” driver; a drive who has driven millions of miles.
Wiggle Wagon – A set of two or three trailers.
X – … We’re stumped on this one.
Yardstick – A mile marker on the interstate.
Zipper – The dashed lane divider.

Don’t even get us started on CB 10 codes…

There are over 50 CB 10 codes out there, from 10-4 (see above), to 10-37, all the way to 10-200. We’ll give you a free one – 10-10: Transmission Completed. We hope you learned some new trucker lingo in our ABCs!