Hang Ten

Posted by Bruce Kahl on October 22, 2001

In Reply to: Hang Ten posted by Art Hogan on October 22, 2001

: What does hang ten mean? Anybody know?

It refers to your ten toes on a surfboard. A surder rides a surfboard (at near-optimum speed or full stretch) with the toes of both feet hooked over the front. From the jargon of American surfers since the early 1960s. The phrase is sometimes used figuratively to mean something like 'go full-tilt on a risky course'.
Bloomsbury Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, © Tony Thorne 1997