Despite its limitations regarding range and reach, CB radio remains a popular form of communication, particularly among certain groups of users, including most notably, truckers. Because they are on the road so much, truck drivers rely on CB radio communication for real-time traffic updates, local weather conditions, road hazards, and yes, for some companies on those lonely stretches of highway.
As newcomers to the world of CB radio are sure to learn, this mode of communication has such an enthusiastic following that it developed its own lingo. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrases “breaker, breaker” or “10-4”. These are just a few examples of CB slang that have developed over the years.
Truckers are not the only users of CB radio lingo either. Law enforcement and other public agencies also use it to keep radio communication brief and to the point.
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Are you new to the CB radio game and want to learn how to talk like a pro? Buckle up, crank up the volume, and keep reading.
CB Radio Lingo: Getting Started
At first blush, CB radio lingo is a jumbled mix of familiar words and meaningless phrases. Understanding it is one thing, but learning to use it? Good luck.
If you take the time to understand how CB radio slang came to be and the purposes it serves, not only is the lingo easier to learn, but you may gain a deeper appreciation for the humor and wit behind many of its words and phrases.
Here are a few highlights to get you started:
- Seasoned CB radio users will enter a conversation by saying “breaker-breaker” to announce their arrival and avoid muscling in on someone’s transmission
- Since most highways are two lanes or more, the left-most lane (typically where traffic moves faster) is known as the “hammer lane”, while the right-most lane (where traffic usually moves slower) is known as the “granny lane”
- To keep their trucks and vehicles moving, truckers rely on “go-go juice” or “motion lotion” (fuel)
- On long stretches of highway, food options are very limited and truckers refer to a sketchy dining establishment as a “choke ‘n puke”
- Many CB radio phrases relate to driving conditions, such as an “alligator” (a piece of blown or shredded tire lying on the pavement) posing a potential driving hazard
- Since truck drivers are unable to see objects directly behind them, fellow truckers may advise them if something is at their “back door”, such as a police car
- When someone advises that you have a “black eye”, they are telling you that one of your headlights is out
- To encourage someone to talk or repeat themselves, tell them to “come back” at you
- Descending an incline is known as a “downstroke”
- If someone says “I’ve got my nightgown on”, they are heading back to the sleeper section of the cabin and retiring for the night
- To find out if anybody is paying attention or listening to their transmission, someone may ask if you “got your ears on”
- When road conditions are slick or treacherous, they are often referred to as “greasy”
- When a vehicle is flipped over on its roof in a serious accident, it is known as being “greasy side up” (conversely, truckers urge their fellow CBers to stay “shiny side up” and drive safely)
- An ambulance is called a “meat wagon” in CB lingo
- To “pay the water bill” means to go offline to use the restroom
- A “ratchet jaw” is someone who talks endlessly on a radio channel not letting anyone get in a word edgewise
- When a CBer sits on the sideline, listening but not talking, they are “reading the mail” (“sandbagging” is another term for this)
- To respond to anyone in the affirmative, simply say “roger”
- “Roller skate” is CB slang for any small car
- Highway mile markers are known as “yardsticks”
These 20 terms and phrases are a small sampling of the colorful lingo that CB users have developed through the years. Although cell phones and satellite communications devices have supplanted CB radios in many trucks and vehicles, nothing can take away from the unique culture that CB radios have fostered.
The Wit and Humor of CB Radio Slang
Learning to understand and speak CB radio slang can seem like a daunting task at first. Although the words sound familiar, their meanings can be elusive. But give it time and not only will the lingo start to make sense, but the wit and humor of this colorful form of communication will become apparent.
Here are a few examples of how funny, witty, and yes, occasionally morbid, CB radio slang can be:
- Cheese wagon – this term fittingly refers to a school bus
- Driving award – CB radio slang is known for its sarcasm and this term referring to a speeding ticket is a perfect example
- Fighter pilot – truckers coined this phrase to describe those annoying drivers who swerve around cars, switching lanes constantly
- Jumpy juice – because of the long hours that are put in behind the wheel, coffee is a trucker’s best friend
- Nap trap – truckers are accustomed to sleeping in the back of their cabins so a full-sized bed in a motel room would be impossible to resist
- Organ donor – this term refers to a motorcyclist riding without a helmet on
- Pregnant roller skate – a VW Bug, owing to its round, pudgy shape
- Salt shaker – this aptly coined term refers to snow plows
- Turtle race – this phrase is used to describe zones that have low speed limits
- Radio Rambo – this is what truckers call a CBer who talks tough on the radio waves with very little to back up the bravado
These humorous terms and phrases provide an insightful glimpse into the world of truckers as seen through the lens of CB radio lingo.
How Truckers Refer to Themselves Using CB Radio Lingo?
It is human nature when groups of people form a community, that they make observations about each other and comment on them. For truckers, this plays out through their unique lingo. These are some of the ways that truckers use CB radio slang to refer to each other:
- When describing another trucker’s rig, fellow CBers will often use terms like “chicken truck” (a truck decked out with bright lights and shiny accessories) or “large car”
- If a trucker says “you’re blowing my doors off”, it means that another truck is traveling at a very high speed
- The truck driving community is tight-knit and when a driver encourages others to “keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down”, they are telling them to drive safely and wishing them safe travels (another phrase with a similar sentiment is “keep the rubber side down and the bugs off your glass”)
- Truckers can also be critical of each other and a “Billy Big Rigger” (aka a “super trucker”) is a trucker driver with a very big ego
- Truckers also refer to each other by the type or make of truck they drive, for example: “Bull Dog” (Mack truck), “BullFrog” (ABF truck), “Dragon Wagon” (tow truck), “Freight Shaker” (Freightliner truck), “General Mess of Crap” (GMC truck), “K-Whopper” (Kenworth truck), “Skateboard” (flatbed truck), and “Thermos Bottle” (tanker truck).
These phrases demonstrate that some of the most colorful CB radio lingo is reserved to describe truckers themselves.
CB Radio Codes Meaning
Because popular CB radio channels can get congested with user traffic, transmissions need to be brief and to the point. Users devised a way to communicate certain phrases and information using numerical codes (most notably, the 10 codes) and mainstream audiences learned about them firsthand through popular television shows and movies in the 1960s and 1970s.
Although CB radio codes are not used as widely as they once were, some users still utilize them out of convenience or for nostalgia’s sake. Whatever the reason, CB radio codes are still around, and these are some of the notable ones being used today:
- 10-1 – receiving a poor (weak) quality signal
- 10-2 – receiving a good (strong) quality signal
- 10-3 – hold on (stop transmitting)
- 10-4 – acknowledged (message received)
- 10-6 – stand by
- 10-7 – signing off
- 10-8 – back on the air
- 10-10 – transmission complete (standing by for response)
- 10-12 – people are present (exercise discretion please)
- 10-20 – what is your location
- 10-42 – reporting a traffic accident ahead
- 10-43 – reporting traffic congestion ahead
Here is a the full list CB radio codes and their meaning.
| CB Radio Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 10-1 | Receiving poorly |
| 10-2 | Receiving well |
| 10-3 | Stop transmitting |
| 10-4 | Message received, understood |
| 10-5 | Relay message to [Name. Ex: SNR] |
| 10-6 | Busy, please stand by |
| 10-7 | Out of service, leaving the air |
| 10-8 | In service, subject to call |
| 10-9 | Repeat message |
| 10-10 | Transmission completed, standing by |
| 10-11 | Talking too rapidly |
| 10-12 | Visitors present |
| 10-13 | Advise weather/road conditions |
| 10-16 | Make pick up at [Location] |
| 10-17 | Urgent business |
| 10-18 | Anything for us? |
| 10-19 | Nothing for you, return to base |
| 10-20 | My location is [Location] or What’s your location? |
| 10-21 | Call by telephone |
| 10-22 | Report in person to [Person Name] |
| 10-23 | Stand by |
| 10-24 | Completed last assignment |
| 10-25 | Can you contact [Person Name] |
| 10-26 | Disregard last information |
| 10-27 | I am moving to channel {Channel Number} |
| 10-28 | Identify your station |
| 10-29 | Time is up for contact |
| 10-30 | Does not conform to FCC rules |
| 10-31 | Pick up [Person Name] |
| 10-32 | Radio check |
| 10-33 | Emergency traffic at this station |
| 10-34 | Trouble at this station |
| 10-35 | Confidential information |
| 10-36 | Correct time is |
| 10-37 | Wrecker needed at [Location] |
| 10-38 | Ambulance needed at [Location] |
| 10-39 | Your message delivered |
| 10-40 | Break channel |
| 10-41 | Turning to channel [number] |
| 10-42 | Traffic accident at [Location] |
| 10-43 | Traffic tie-up at [Location] |
| 10-44 | I have a message for you (or Name) |
| 10-45 | All units within range please report |
| 10-46 | Assistance needed at [Location] |
| 10-47 | Emergency at this station |
| 10-50 | Break channel |
| 10-60 | What is next message number? |
| 10-62 | Unable to copy, use phone |
| 10-63 | Net directed to [Location] |
| 10-64 | Net clear |
| 10-65 | Awaiting your next message/assignment |
| 10-67 | All units comply |
| 10-70 | Fire at [Location] |
| 10-71 | Proceed with transmission in sequence |
| 10-73 | Speed trap at [Location] |
| 10-75 | You are causing interference |
| 10-77 | Negative contact |
| 10-84 | My telephone number is [Phone Number] |
| 10-85 | My address is [Location] |
| 10-91 | Talk closer to the microphone |
| 10-93 | Check my frequency on this channel |
| 10-94 | Please give me a long count |
| 10-99 | Mission completed |
| 10-200 | Police needed at [Location] |
Initially developed to streamline radio communication among law enforcement officers when CB radio use was just starting to catch on in the 1940s and 1950s, the 10-codes may be past their heyday of the 60s and 70s but they still serve a valuable purpose for those who continue to use them.
CB Radio Names for the Police: Smokeys and Bears
Given that they spend most of their waking hours on the road, it should come as no surprise that truckers and members of law enforcement have their fair share of run-ins with each other. In truth, they have a rather contentious relationship.
After all, a truck driver’s job is to get a load from point A to point B as quickly as possible while the police’s job is to keep our highways safe for all drivers. Sometimes, these two interests clash, and when they do, usually the trucker is on the receiving end of an expensive speeding ticket or infraction.
As such, truckers utilize their CB radios to warn other drivers about speed traps and checkpoints they may have driven past (or got caught in), and a significant portion of CB radio lingo relates to law enforcement. Here are some highlights:
- Bear – the police or law enforcement
- Bear bait – a vehicle traveling above the posted speed limit
- Bear cage – jail or a law enforcement facility
- Bear cave – a police station or headquarters
- Bear in the air – law enforcement helicopter or airplane (e.g., radar-equipped for enforcing speed laws)
- Bearmobile – a police car
- Bear trap – a law enforcement officer with a radar gun, usually parked off the side of a road
- Black ‘n white – a law enforcement vehicle
- Boy Scouts – the state police
- Brown paper bag (also plain wrapper) – an unmarked law enforcement vehicle (i.e., no rooftop lights or official markings)
- Evel Knievel – a motorcycle officer
- Kojak with a kodak – a law enforcement officer using a radar gun
- Lady bear (also mama bear) – a female police officer
- Local yokel – law enforcement in a small town
- Smokey or smokey bear – a state law enforcement officer
- Smokey dozing – a police officer in a parked vehicle
- Smokey’s thick – heavy police presence
- Smokey with a camera – a police officer equipped with radar
- Smokey with ears – a law enforcement vehicle equipped with a CB radio
- Sneaky snake – a concealed police car
Here is a full list of CB radio lingo relates to police officers.
| CB Lingo | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bear | A law enforcement officer, usually state trooper or highway patrol |
| Bear in the air | Police helicopter |
| Bear taking pictures | Police with radar |
| Bear with ears | Police listening to CB transmissions |
| County Mountie | County police officer |
| City Kitty | City police officer |
| Diesel Cop | Department of Transportation Inspector |
| Gum Ball Machine | Police or emergency vehicle with lights flashing |
| Kojak with a Kodak | Police officer with radar gun |
| Mama Bear | Female police officer |
| Plain Wrapper | Unmarked police car |
| Smokey | State law enforcement officer, highway patrol |
| Full-Grown Bear | Policeman |
| Local Yokel | Local city police officer or county sheriff |
| Picture Taker | Radar Gun |
From this extensive list (there are even more CB radio terms for police than these) it is fairly obvious that truckers and other CBers who spend a lot of time on the road devote a significant amount of effort watching out for law enforcement, for their own sake and the benefit of their CB radio community.
Are There Rules for Using a CB Radio?
CB radio channels are open forums for anyone with the right equipment to join. While there are no hard and fast rules about how you should behave while transmitting on the radio, there are unwritten formalities most users follow. These are a few unofficial but generally respected, rules of conduct for using a CB radio:
- CB radio channels, especially the popular ones, can get quite congested with radio traffic so keep your transmissions brief and to the point
- Truckers have been known to use colorful language but anyone with a CB radio can listen in on conversations, including children, so obscene and vulgar language is discouraged
- Scam artists can use CB radio waves to lure unsuspecting victims so do not believe everything you hear
- Keep your load and livelihood secure by not revealing the nature or value of the cargo in your truck over the radio
Generally speaking, CB radio enthusiasts are a respectful, good-natured bunch using the radio waves to look out for their fellow CBers and keep each other company. By following these basic rules of conduct, you can fit right in and join the fun.
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Final Thoughts – Over and Out
With the exception of a few recognizable words sprinkled in here and there, CB radio traffic can sound like a foreign language. Through the years, CB radio users, truckers in particular, have developed a distinctive lingo that reflects the unique origin and history of this popular mode of communication.
CB radio lingo may be confusing and difficult to understand at first, but over time and with an appreciation for the purposes it serves, it can be fun to learn and satisfying to use.
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