Slinging Slang: A Guide To Hockey Jargon

Hockey has its own language. A little English, a little French, a whole lot more Eastern European than it used to be. And, of course, a good helping of locker room talk.

Or, as Gordie Howe once famously said, “All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.”

Except, in hockey, it isn’t a locker room. It’s a dressing room. And they don’t wear jerseys. They wear sweaters. And there’s a whole bunch of other hockey slang you might want to learn if you don’t want people to think you’re a hoser.

At which most Canadians will roll their eyes, because nobody says it anymore. Everybody thinks it came from Bob and Doug McKenzie, a couple of characters on an old TV show, which it didn’t. It derives from pre-Zamboni days when losing hockey teams had to water down the ice — thus, hoser = loser.

Anyway, here’s a sampling of some of hockey’s most common slang:

A

Apple: An assist.

B

Basket: The net.

Beautician: A talented player who is popular both with his teammates and the ladies.

Biscuit: The puck (as in “put the biscuit in the basket”).

Bottle rocket: A goal that breaks the goaltender’s water bottle (which typically rests on the net behind the crossbar).

Bucket: A helmet (alternatively, “brain bucket”).

C

Chiclets: Teeth.

Chirp: To talk trash (as in “knock off the chirpin’ or you’re gonna be spittin’ chiclets”).

Clapper: A powerful slap shot.

D

Dangle: The act of maintaining or the ability to maintain puck possession amid numerous opponents by stickhandling around or through them.

Dusty: A player who gets little ice time.

Dusts it off: When a defenseman briefly handles the puck and gets it to an offensive player.

F

Facewash: Putting your glove, palm first, into an opponent’s face to irritate them.

Five-hole: The gap between the goalie’s legs.

Flow: Great hockey hair.

G

Gordie Howe hat trick: When a player scores a goal, registers an assist and gets in a fight in the same game.

Grenade: A bad pass that bounces erratically toward a teammate.

H

Hat trick: One player scoring three goals in a single game. Traditionally, this prompts spectators to throw their hats on the ice.

L

Lettuce: See “Flow”.

Light the lamp: To score a goal (signaled by the goal judge turning on a red light behind the net).

Lip lettuce: A mustache.

P

Pigeon: A player who can’t score on his own (relying on others to “feed” him, as one would the birds in the park).

Pylon: An extremely slow player who is easily skated around.

S

Salad: See “Lettuce”.

Sin bin: The penalty box.

Snipe: A well-placed shot resulting in a goal, frequently entering the net without the goalie touching it.

Stoned: Having one’s shot stopped by a great save.

T

Top shelf: The area just below the crossbar.

Twig: A hockey stick — though wood was long ago replaced, first by aluminum, then by composites, as the stick material of choice.

W

Wheeling: The act of picking up women. A “beautician” can wheel the ladies.

Wraparound: Taking the puck behind the net and trying to score on the other side.

Make sure to go check out our friends over at Pro Stock Hockey for the best hockey equipment in the biz!