CB slang is the anti-language, argot, or cant which developed among users of Citizens Band radio (CB), especially truck drivers in the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s, when it was an important part of the culture of the trucking industry.
Nicknames or call signs given or adopted by CB radio users are known as "handles". Many truck drivers will call each other "Hand," or by the name of the company for which they drive.
CB and its associated slang emerged in the United States but were then exported to other countries including Mexico, Germany, and Canada.
List of terms
Law enforcement officers, equipment, and locations + List of law enforcement–related CB slang Term Description Baby bear/ Bear cubA rookie police officer. BearA police officer. (See "Smokey" below) Bear bite/InvitationA speeding ticket. Bear cave/Bear's denA police station. Bear in the airA police officer in some form of aircraft (see "Eye in the sky"). Bear rolling discosA speeding police car with its lights flashing. Bear trapRadar or speed trap. Bear with earsA police officer monitoring the CB airwaves. Blue light specialA police vehicle with its blue strobe lights flashing (from the popular Kmart sale gimmick). Checkpoint CharliePolice checkpoint placed to look for intoxicated drivers, drivers with invalid licenses, etc. (alludes to the former border crossing between East and West Berlin). Chicken coop/Chicken houseA scale house (truck scale), or the weigh station where they are found. Cop-ulatingA collaborative task force of multiple agencies and/or jurisdictions conducting a checkpoint, speed enforcement or other targeted "sting" operation. County mountieA county sheriff or deputy. DOTDepartment of Transportation enforcement vehicle. Dope Dog Dog used to find illegal drugs on and/ or in vehicles, personnel, especially drivers. Seen when a bust is going on/ US border crossings, other places. Some call them "Flea Bags". Eaten by a bearA truck driver caught by a police officer for speeding or another safety infraction. Evel KnievelPolice officer on a motorcycle (refers to the popular motorcycle stuntman). Eye in the skyPolice aircraft, airplane or helicopter. Flying doughnutA police helicopter. Fox in the hen house/Smokey in a plain wrapperAn unmarked police vehicle. Full-grown bearA state police trooper. Gumball machine/Bubble gum machinePolice vehicle, especially one with the older-style, dome-shaped red rotating/strobe light commonly mounted on the roof of police cars, which resembles a traditional "penny" gumball machine. Hit/Hitting the jackpotA motorist or trucker pulled over by law enforcement. Refers to the siren lights on top of a police cruiser, resembling the bright lights on a casino slot machine. Honey bearA more endearing term for a female police officer. Kojak with a KodakA police officer running Radar. Local yokelA local city police officer. Mama bearA less derogatory term for a female police officer. Miss PiggyA female police officer (refers to the Muppet character, derived from the pejorative term "pig" for police officers). Mountie mountieA member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Papa bearA male police officer or police supervisor such as Sergeant or higher rank. Polar bearA white unmarked police vehicle. SmokeyA police officer (refers to Smokey Bear, known for wearing a campaign hat very similar to that included in many highway patrol uniforms in the United States; origin of Smokey and the Bandit movie title). Smokey with a customer A driver getting busted by a police officer and being issued a ticket. Starsky and HutchPolice officers (refers to the 1970s American action television series Starsky & Hutch). Sunoco specialA New York state trooper. Named for the blue-and-yellow vehicle color scheme which resembled Sunoco gas stations. Super trooperState police trooper. Taco standBorder patrol stations on the Mexico–United States border. Wall-to-wall bearsA large number of police vehicles, especially when on a chase.
Trucks and other vehicles + List of trucks and other vehicles CB slang Term Description 18/18 wheelerA truck with a total of 18 tire/wheels. It can also be used for any truck usually with a fifth-wheel hitch and a semi-trailer even if the vehicle doesn't have dual wheels, or tandem axles. Aircraft carrierTractor/trailer carrying a disassembled aircraft, helicopter or a small plane. Angry kangarooA truck with one (or both) of its headlights out. Big truckGenerally, a truck able to pull a semi-trailer, usually with the trailer and not a bob-tail. It can mean any vehicle Class 7 or heavier. Blinkin winkin/Kiddie carSchool bus. BulldogA Mack road tractor, noted for its trademark bulldog hood ornament (origin in World War I when British soldiers called the Mack AC "The Bulldog", giving the name and trademark hood ornament to Mack). BullfrogAn ABF truck. Bull hauler A livestock hauler that is empty (for a loaded one see Go Go Girls). Bobtail rig/BobtailRoad tractor driving without a trailer. Bumper sticker Vehicle following too close (tailgating). Buster BrownUPS truck. Cab-overA truck where the cab sits directly over the engine. Much less common in North America since the overall length law changed in 1976. Camper A motorhome or a travel trailer. Some of these are like a literal house and may have Satellite TV access, even access to the Internet. Usually used as a temporary place to stay while travelling. Also known as a Recreational Vehicle. Cash boxA toll booth. Chicken truckA dressed up and fancy truck. Usually means extra chrome, wide front bumper, extra light, etc. Can also mean a fast truck. Does not mean a truck hauling chickens. Coal bucketTruck with a trailer for hauling coal, especially an end-dump trailer. Container An intermodal shipping container. Refers to a cargo container that goes overseas, get loaded onto a train, or get placed on a truck chassis. Convict WagonA Dept. Of Corrections vehicle, usually a white or other colored bus that has Dept. Of Corrections insignia on it, cages in it for prisoner transport to either jail or prison. Corn flakeA Consolidated Freightways truck. Cornbinder/Thirteen letter shit spreaderA Navistar International or International Harvester truck. Covered wagon A trailer with a tarp. Doubles Refers to a double set of trailers. Draggin' wagon/A wreckerA tow truck. Dry vanA trailer without a refrigeration unit or insulation. Drop and hookThe process of dropping off a trailer and picking up a replacement trailer at a destination. Dung beetleA Volkswagen Beetle with a male driver. Fender benderAn accident (now widely used among the general public). FreightshakerA Freightliner truck. Four wheelerAny vehicle with only four wheels. Most often used for personal cars/vans/SUVs. Four wheeler with a tagAny vehicle with only four wheels pulling a trailer. Most often used for personal cars/vans/SUVs. Go-go girls (on the dance floor)A livestock truck, preferably hauling pigs or cows. Green machine A military vehicle. HoodA conventional road tractor, with the engine in front of the cab. JimmyA GMC road tractor. Juice boxA tanker hauling perishable liquids preferably juice concentrate to a processing plant. K-WhopperA Kenworth road tractor. Large CarSlang for classic-style, long-hooded semi-trucks like the Kenworth W900 and Peterbilt 379 LouisvilleA Ford L-Series truck. Meat wagonAn ambulance. Milk bottle A milk tanker. Boiler/Pete/PetercarA Peterbilt road tractor. PigtailsThe cables that supply air and power to a trailer. Piggy backA truck towing another truck. Piggy bankAn armored car. Portable barnA livestock truck. Portable parking lot/Rolling parking lotA tractor/trailer loaded with new or used cars, a car carrier trailer. Pregnant roller skateA Volkswagen Beetle. Pumpkin/Pumpkin rollerA Schneider National tractor/trailer. ReeferA refrigerated trailer or flatbed trailer hauling a refrigerated container. Roach CoachA small to moderately sized truck built as a portable restaurant seen at construction sites, carnivals, fairs, etc. to serve public at large as a restaurant or diner. Rolling refineryA tanker truck, typically carrying fuel. Salt shakerA highway department truck for spreading ice melting chemicals on the road, traditionally salt. ScannyA Scania AB truck. There are around 500 in the United States. It is very rare, so it is used only in social media (truck pages in Facebook, YouTube, etc.). SkateboardA straight, flatbed trailer. Star car/Big WA Western Star road tractor. Super chickensA YRC tractor/trailer. Thermos bottleA road tractor with a chemical trailer. Tornado Tracker/TIVSpecial vehicle seen in areas where tornadoes/ severe thunderstorms are located. Other vehicles may be modified cars, while some trucks have a rotating Doppler radar unit on it. All are used to track severe thunderstorms, tornadoes. Turkey hearseA truck with a load of turkeys headed for slaughter.Twin ScrewA Dual-axle drive semi truck Wiggle wagonA road tractor with more than one trailer. Yard dog, yard goat, yard horse or muleA terminal tractor used to move trailers in a shipping/freight yard.
Locations and regions