Gnarly
Gnarly may be merely the replacement for hairy, an
expression no doubt referring to a common animalistic reaction to
really scary horror movies, but Trevor Cralle puts an extra spin
on the tale by giving the word a geographic origin (and we could
not go wrong to claim that most language is rooted in specific
places). He tells us, "Among surfers (with whom the word is most
commonly identified), gnarly may have first been used at a
California surf spot where Torrey pine or Monterey cypress trees
grew. Their gnarled roots and branches may have inspired
comparisons with the waves." p. 45,
The Surfin'ary.