MAHALO (mah-HAH-loh) -
1) “Thank you.”
2) thanks, gratitude

MAHU (mah-huu) - not used as a derogatory word:
1) homosexual
2) transgender
3) hermaphrodite

MAIKA'I (mah-ee-KAH-ee) - fine, excellent, good-looking

MAILE (MAH-ee-leh) - a native twining shrub, whose vine has shiny fragrance leaves; used for decorations and leis, especially on important occasions; a member of the periwinkle family

MAINLAND (MAAN-lahnd) - slang for: the continental United States (Remember always that Hawaii is one of the United States of North America and that the United States of America are not all contiguous.)

MAKAHIKI (MAH-kah-HEE-kee) -
1) annual, yearly
2) an ancient festival that began about the middle of October, lasted about 4 months, and had sports, religious festivities and a taboo on war – has now been replaced with Aloha Week

MAKAI (mah-KAH-ee) - ocean; towards the ocean

make a wave - to go for a wave and ‘make it’ as opposed to getting tossed off your board and pounded by the wave

MAKE (MAH-keh) -
1) to die, to perish
2) death, destruction, misfortune
3) to kill, to execute, to beat

MAKE DIE DEAD (MAH-keh DY-ee dehd) - slang for: extremely dead, way dead, no chance of surviving

mal (pronounced 'mahl') - gross

Mal - short for 'Malibu'

MĀLAMA (MAH-lah-mah) -
1) to care for the land in some way
2) in computers: to save, to revert to a previous save

MALAMA PONO (MAA-lah-mah POH-noh) - “Be careful.”

MALASADA (mah-lah-SAH-dah) - a popular Hawaiian donut of Portuguese origin

Malibu (also Mal) - a longboard that is slightly shorter in length, slimmer in width, with a tail that allows for sharper turns; used for riding small to medium size waves; can have one large fin or three smaller fins

MALIHINI (mah-lee-HEE-nee) - a newcomer, a visitor, a non-native

man in (the) grey suit - South African slang for: shark

MANA (MAH-nah) - spiritual power, to worship

MANJU (MAHN-juu) - slang for: tight

MANONG (mah-NOHNG) - slang for:
1) Filipino
2) a person of Filipino descent

MAUKA (mah-UU-kah) - away from the ocean, towards the mountains, upland

max out - to be over the limit

maxed out - to be too large for riding; when large waves only close out : No can ride, dude. Them babies are maxed out.

meatball - a yellow flag with a black circle in the center indicating 'No Surfing’

medium - a surf forecasting term in regards to wave intensity; 'medium' indicates a tube speed defined by a 45° angle of peel line (see also fast, slow)

MELE (MEH-leh) -
1) a song, and anthem, or a chant
2) a poem; poetry

MELE KALIKIMAKA (MEH-leh kah-lee-kee-MAH-kah) - Merry Christmas (as translated from English)

MENEHUNE (MEH-neh-HUU-neh) -
1) a legendary race of small people who worked at night building public works projects like fishponds, roads, and temples – but if the project was not completed in one night, it remained unfinished
2) to gather together to complete a task (like a band of Menehune)

return to top - return to alphabet

merv (short for Mervin) - a 'merv' is just your typical run-of-the-mill idiot

Meyerhoffer Hourglass Surfboard - a longboard, invented by Thomas Meyerhoffer in 2009, that has:
• an hourglass-shape – to make it lighter and easier to pilot while paddling for a wave
• and a tapered nose – to prevent the tail from getting caught so the rider doesn't lose speed on a turn
• and slimmer rails – to help draw water over the planed surface while gripping the wave from the back

Mini-Mal (also Mini Malibu) - a slightly shorter Malibu that will range from 7' to 8'6" in length

mini-gun - a surfboard with a pin-shaped nose and a tail that is narrower than the nose; designed by Dick Brewer in 1968

MO BETTAH (moh BEH-tah) - slang for: much better, a much better idea

MOKE (mohk) - slang for: a very tough local guy

mokes - local tough guys in Hawaii

MOI MOI (MOH-ee MOH-ee) - slang for: sleep

momboosa - monstrous, gargantuan, huge, massive

MOMONA (moh-MOH-nah) - fat, to fatten

mondo - something huge, of epic proportions; something that is 'mondo' is the same size as something that is momboosaloid

MORE ON MJ - slang for: chew the fat, shoot the breeze

murph - a typical surfer; this monicker is from Murphy, a comic strip started by Rick Griffin for Surfer magazine in 1961 and whose lead character was named Murphy (and was a typical, unspectacular surfer)

Murph the Surf - the legendary Jack Roland Murphy, a former surfing champion who is also a convicted murderer now out on “parole with lifetime monitoring” since 1986

mushy (also mush) - use when describing waves that are slow, sloppy and have little power; waves are 'mush' when they are weak and crumble

MU'UMU'U (MUU-uu-MUU-uu) - a woman's loose gown, loose dress, underslip, or chemise

return to top - return to alphabet