I have now lived in Palm Beach for a year. I noticed some words that are used differently in the salty life than in the snowy life. I have put together a small list of terms to help anyone transitioning between the two environments. Just remember, this is all in fun and is taken from my own perceptions and certainly not from Webster's.
Mountain Definition
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Beach Definition
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Berm
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A pile of snow
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A pile of sand
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Coast
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To drift on a bicycle, without pedaling, down a mountain pass at high
speeds
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Where the ocean meets the land
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Clutch
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A really cute purse
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80-120 sea turtle eggs laid in a hole by a mama turtle in the middle
of the night
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Feeder Bands
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Catering companies working with musical touring groups
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The outer most rings of nasty weather from tropical storms. These
babies can dump lots of rain and I guess, they feed the storms
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Glory Hole
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A reference to a place in a river in which the fish of a lifetime can
be caught by fly fishing
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A box in the boat, hinged to open on top, where ropes and tools are
kept
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Ground Scatter
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The stuff on trees that turns brown in autumn and then falls to the
ground
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Images on a boat’s radar that are meaningless
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Guarded Beach
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Security Guards on Beaches? What?
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Life Guards keep beach goers safe from marine life, rip currents and
hopefully their own dumb selves
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Heave
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What happens when you drink too much alcohol at high altitude
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The vertical rise and fall of
a wave
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| Slip |
Made of silk, it is a piece of clothing worn under a dress so the
static electricity doesn’t make the skirt cling and people don’t see your
underwear
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Made of wood, it is where you park your boat so people can get on and
off and so it doesn’t drift off into the ocean
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Spaghetti Models
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Super thin fashion models OR The plates of display pasta you see at the Eat-a-Lot Corral
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Lines shown on the Ocean’s map to attempt to predict a storm’s track
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| Storm Surge |
The mass exodus to the mountains before a big winter storm hits the
mountains OR the propensity to call in sick when the ski conditions are perfect
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The advancing winds and water levels of a tropical storm or
hurricane. Strongest in high tide and is often the most dangerous part of the
storm
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| Wax |
A substance placed on the bottom of skis to make them faster on the snow
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(I had to look this one up) A substance placed on the top of a surfboard so the surfer doesn't fall off
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For more information check out The Nautical Dictionary, The Glossary of Rock, Ice and Mountain Climbing and for a really different set of vocabulary, a list of Snowboarder Tricks.
