Tito Speak
“Tito-Speak” is a unique language that Tito himself has cultivated through his many travels & travails. It is an odd mishmash of words, largely consisting of the colloquialisms used by surfers, along with a bit of Spanish, & also the Hawaiian slang known as “Pidgin.” You may know many of these words & phrases, but you probably don’t know ‘em all, since Tito likes to make up words up as he goes along!
aloha: aloha. ‘nuff said!
amped: energized; excited; charged up. “It’s on!”
ate it: an especially gnarly wipeout. “Ouch! He really ate it on that run.”
bail: jump off your skate/surfboard; leave. “Dude, I’ve eaten my fill of tacos. Time to bail.”
Barney/Betty: a guy/a girl
beater: an old, well-used (loved) surf/skate/snow vehicle that barely passes inspection, but gets you to your destination every time.
bent: a poorly or badly executed (& often painful) ending to a great ride. “If you’re not careful, you’re gonna get really bent.”
blue bird: a day that is perfectly blue, not a cloud in the sky
bro: brother; buddy or friend, also known as brah, bruddah & for those who are really fluent Tito-Speakers, “braddah.”
bro down: a big dude-filled party. “That party night was a full-on bro down!”
brok da mout: broke the mouth; totally delicious. “Last night I had some fresh tuna that brok da mout!”
chillax: chill out; kick back; relax
corduroy: perfectly groomed snow or a well-organized surf swell
da kine: “the kind”; the ultimate; the best. “Hey brah, these fish tacos are da kine!”
dook: a little brown floating friend; in other words, a turd
dude: dude
dudette: female dude
el jefe: the boss; the big kahuna
epic: beyond the usual, extraordinary; full-on
full-on: all the way; totally. “My job stinks! It’s just a full-on stress factory!”
gel: to hang out; vegetate. “I’m just gonna gel at home tonight & check out the new Call Of Duty.”
gnarlbro: anyone who smokes. (Tito frowns on smoking - except for BBQ!)
gnarly: anything big or difficult
graze or grind: to eat. “I gotta take a break. “I need to grind before I drop.”
grommets: kids; little surfers
hairy: an on-the-edge situation that could turn very gnarly at any second
hallo: hello; What’s up; How’z it?
hang loose: hang loose. nuff said!
hombre: see “dude”
howzit?: a greeting as in ”How is it?”
irie: the state of Nirvana for the Rastifarian crew
kicks: sneakers
kleptobro: someone who steals your stuff all the time
kook: someone who is NOT down with the program. “Some kook just cut in line & bought the last movie tickets!”
mahalo: thank you
malo or mal: something bad or lame
max: maximum; full-on
minors: something minor; not a big deal. “No worries on you being five minutes late, brah. It’s minors.”
no-can: unable to. “I’d like to lend you a fiver for some grind, bro. But no-can. I’m tapped.”
nor-cal: Northern California
ol ‘school: legendary to some... old to others
ono: delicious (pronounced “oh-no”).
purplified: anyone who is so sunburned that they aren’t just pink, or even red, they are… purplefied; also known as “Burnt Reynolds.”
rad: radical
rager: a wild party with good tunes & good times
rip: surfing/skating/doing anything to the max of one’s abilities
session: any period of time spent skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, etc. “Dude, there was a rippin’ session goin’ down at Manasquan today!”
shred: see "rip"
slippahs: flip-flops; sandals; slippers. (Tito encourages that slippahs always be worn when inside his restaurant… & the Health Dept.
so-cal: Southern California
stink-eye: a hard, cold, menacing stare (Tito gives the stink-eye to the stink-eye. It gives off bad vibes). Also known as “Buffalo Eye.”