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Locker Room Lingo

By Aaron Paitich, Touchpoint Media, 12/09/14, 10:30AM CST

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“Hey, ya beauty! Grab your twig and let’s lace ‘em up at the barn. I’ll be pumpin’ ginos on this tendy all night. Bar down, top cheddar.”

Translation: “Hey, buddy! Grab your hockey stick and let’s put on our ice skates at the local rink. I’ll be scoring on this goalie all evening by shooting toward the upper quadrant of the net with the puck ricocheting off the crossbar and in.”

Hockey is unique in many ways. That even includes the way we speak. Hockey lingo is part of what makes the culture so tight-knit and fun.

Whether you’re new to the game or looking to sharpen your on- and off-ice vocabulary, here are 25 terms players should have stored to their memory.

Apple: Another term for an assist
Example: “Susie picked up the apple on that goal.”

Barn: A hockey rink.
Example: “I love watching high school games in old school barns like the Hipp in Eveleth.”

Bar Down/Bar South: When the puck hits the crossbar and goes into the net.
Example: “I’m about to go bar down on that goalie.”

Beauty: A term used to describe fellow hockey players, usually in connection to a nice move, goal or that players’ character.
Example: “Did you see Backes’ snipe last night? Such a beauty.”

Biscuit: A hockey puck.
Example: “Put the biscuit in the basket (net).”

Breezers: Protective hockey pants (unique term to Minnesota)
Example: “Johnny may need a new pair of breezers this year.”

Bucket/Lid: Hockey helmet
Example: “Put your buckets on and let’s hit the ice.”

Celly: An on-ice celebration after a goal is scored.
Example: “Fist-pumping on one knee is my favorite celly.”

Chiclets: Teeth.
Example: “Keep your mouthguard in to protect those chiclets.”

Clapbomb/Clapper: A slap shot.
Example: “Ryan Suter with a clapbomb towards the net.”

Dangle: Using high-quality stickhandling skills.
Example: “Did you see Tommy dangle that defenseman? It was awesome.”

Flow/Salad/Lettuce: Long, flowing hockey hair.
Examples: “Sick flow, buddy.” “What a delicious plate of lettuce.” “Now that’s a gorgeous chopped salad.”

For the Boys/For the Girls (#FTB/#FTG): Playing for your team and teammates.
Example: “I’m giving 110 percent every shift. #FTB/#FTG”

Gino: Goal.
Example: “Let’s pump a gino.”

Grinder: A hard-working, tenacious and physical player.
Example: “Ryan Carter is a real grinder for the Wild.”

Hatty: Another term for a hat trick or scoring three goals in a game.
Example: “Kyle Rau was on fire tonight, finishing the game with a hatty and two apples.”

Sauce/Saucer Pass: A pass that travels through the air, usually over an opponent’s stick.
Example: “Brock Nelson had some wicked sauce on that pass to Tavares.”

Shinny: Pick-up hockey, usually on the pond.
Example: “Let’s go play some shinny this weekend.”

Silky Mitts/Filthy Handles/Sick Paws: A gifted set of hands with extraordinary stickhandling skills.
Example: “Nino Niederreiter has some silky mitts.”

Sin Bin: The penalty box. You go and sit two minutes “and you feel shame.”
Example: Stay out of the sin bin.

Snipe: A shot with pinpoint accuracy. It tends to make jaws drop.
Example: “Sally really sniped that one. Great goal!”

Tender/Tendy: A nickname for a goaltender.
Example: “Billy is our team’s tender.”

The Show: The NHL.
Example: “How many Minnesotans will make it to The Show this year?”

Top Shelf: Scoring a goal in the upper part of the net.
Example: “Katie took that one top shelf.”

Where grandma keeps the peanut butter/cookies: Scoring a top shelf (see above) shot.
Example: “Zach Parise put that one where grandma keeps the peanut butter.”

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