About This Quiz
Breaker, breaker, one, nine. We challenge you to test your trucker lingo knowledge.
For more than seventy-five years, big rig culture has been immortalized on the big screen and in American music. From 1940's They Drive by Night, with Humphrey Bogart; to 1975's White Line Fever, with Jan Michael Vincent; to the popular 1978 television show B.J. and the Bear, starring Greg Evigan, trucker culture has played an important role. We might even say that the culture became extremely popular due to the success of the 1978 blockbuster, Convoy, starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali MacGraw, which was inspired by a 1976 country music song of the same name.
Truckers are depicted as rough-and-tumble big guys with a heart. It's hard not to love them. But, let's admit it, we all love that trucker lingo. Truckers face long hauls on the road and could use a little banter to stay alert and connected. Truckers use CB radios to chat, share road conditions, and, of course, make sure everyone knows where those Smokeys are. It's that trucker slang that is so enticing. After all, saying "a police officer operating a radar gun at the 50 mile marker" is nowhere near as fun as saying "Kojack with a Kodak at the 50 yardstick."
Think you can hang with the big boys? Take this trucker slang quiz to find out.
Road pizza refers to any kind of road kill. It's generally on the side of the road.
Roger is another way that truckers say "yes" or "affirmative." A trucker might say "Roger that." on CB radio.
Truckers have a lot of common phrases they use on CB radio when communicating. Affirmative means yes.
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Stray bits of tire in the road can look like alligators, hence their name. Truckers try to avoid these, as they can do damage to trucks.
A ratchet jaw is a trucker who talks constantly on CB radio. They don't give anyone else a chance to talk.
If a trucker says this, it means that there is something behind you on the road. For example, they might say "There's a Chevy at your back door."
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Every truck has a maximum weight it is supposed to carry. If a truck is over this weight, a trucker might say their truck has too many eggs in the basket.
Salt shakers refer to the maintenance vehicles that dump sand or salt onto highways in the winter. These are meant to provide traction so vehicles don't slip and slide on snow and ice.
Bear is trucker slang for law enforcement officer, usually a state trooper or highway patrol. For example, if there is a bear in the bushes, it means that law enforcement is hiding along the road.
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Wally world can refer to any Wal-Mart store or distribution center. It can also refer to their trucks.
Truckers refer to Interstate 95 or I-95 as 95th Street. This highway runs the length of the East Coast.
Truckers refer to the West Coast as the Left Coast. California Highway 152 is famous for accidents and is referred to as Ho Chi Minh Trail by truckers.
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Truckers stop at weigh stations regularly as a part of their job. If a weigh station is all locked up, it's closed.
A driving award is what truckers call a speeding ticket. They are given out by bears, or law enforcement officers.
A chicken coop refers to a weight station. Often they will just be called "a coop" by truckers.
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This refers to stepping on the gas harder to increase speed. It's the trucker equivalent of "step on it."
Truckers refer to ambulances as meat wagons. This is a particularly morbid bit of trucker slang.
Truckers often refer to Los Angeles, and all of California in general, as Shaky. This is due to it being known for earthquakes.
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Truckers have referred to Schneider trucks as pumpkins for a long time. This is because they are orange.
Truck drivers have slang and nicknames for different kinds of vehicles and even parts of their own trucks. They often refer to their truck tires as skins.
When truckers refer to a split, they are referring to a junction. This is where the road splits in separate directions.
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10-4 means message received or OK. Some truckers just say 10.
Trucking can be a dangerous job, especially in inclement weather. Truckers put on snow tire chains to help stay safe in winter driving conditions.
Bambi can refer to any kind of deer on the road. This can be a buck or doe, dead or alive.
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When talking on CB radio, truckers have a number of words they say to mean yes and no. Negatory means no - and isn't likely to be mistaken for another word.
Truckers often come across tour buses on the highway. They call them stagecoaches.
A trucker who is paying the water bill has likely stopped at a rest stop to take a break and go to the bathroom. This is common trucker slang.
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Truckers refer to cops as bears. This is why female cops are mama bears.
Usually, truckers like to stick to highways on long journeys. If they have to leave the interstate and take secondary roads, they might say they are going through the woods.
Go-go juice refers to diesel fuel. This is because it makes trucks go.
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Any small car on the highway might be called a roller skate by a trucker. These cars can often be annoying on large highways.
If a trucker is listening to others talk on CB radio but not talking, others would say that they are reading the mail. They are generally quiet.
42 means yes or OK in trucker slang. Truckers often respond to questions over the radio like this.
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This is trucker slang for illegal uppers. The idea behind this phrase is that if a trucker takes them he can get back and forth between coasts without sleeping.