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The following is an encyclopedic glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: pocket billiards (pool), which denotes a host of games played on a table with six pockets; carom billiards referring to the various carom games played on a table without pockets; and snooker, played on a large pocket table, and which has a sports culture unto itself distinct from pool. There are also hybrid pocket/carom games such as English billiards.

Language
The term "billiards" is sometimes used to refer to all of the cue sports, to a specific class of them, or to specific ones such as English billiards; this article uses the term in its generic sense unless otherwise noted.

The labels "British" or "UK" as applied to entries in this glossary refer to terms originating in the UK and also used in countries that were fairly recently part of the British Empire and/or are part of the Commonwealth of Nations, as opposed to US (and, often, Canadian) terminology. The terms "American" or "US" as applied here refer generally to North American usage. However, due to the predominance of US-originating terminology in most internationally competitive pool (as opposed to snooker), US terms are also common in the pool context in other countries in which English is at least a minority language, and US terms predominate in carom billiards as well. Similarly, British terms predominate in the world of snooker, English billiards and blackball, regardless of the players' nationalities.

The term "blackball" is used in this glossary to refer to both blackball and eight-ball pool as played in the Commonwealth, as a shorthand. Blackball was chosen because it is less ambiguous (eight-ball pool is too easily confused with the related eight-ball), and blackball is globally standardized by an International Olympic Committee-recognized governing body, the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA); meanwhile, its ancestor, eight-ball pool, is largely a folk game, like North American bar pool, and to the extent that its rules have been codified, they have been done so by competing authorities with different rulesets. (For the same reason, the glossary's information on eight-ball and nine-ball draws principally on the stable WPA rules, because there are many competing amateur and even professional leagues with divergent rules for these games.)

Foreign-language terms are generally not within the scope of this list, unless they have become an integral part of billiards terminology in English (e.g. massé), or they are crucial to meaningful discussion of a game not widely known in the English-speaking world.

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1–9

8 (eight) ball

See 8 ball, under "E", for the ball. See eight-ball main article for the game.

9 (nine) ball

See 9 ball, under "N", for the ball. See nine-ball main article for the game.

A

Above

Used in snooker in reference to the position of the cue ball. It is above the object ball if it is off-straight on the baulk cushion side of the imaginary line for a straight pot (e.g. "he'll want to finish above the blue in order to go into the pink and reds"). It is also common to use the term high instead.^[1]

Action

1. Gambling or the potential for gambling (US).
2. Lively results on a ball, usually the cue ball, from the application of spin.

See also cue action.

Added

Used with an amount to signify money added to a tournament prize fund in addition to the amount accumulated from entry fees (e.g. "$500 added").^[2]

Ahead race

Also ahead session. A match format in which a player has to establish a lead of an agreed number of frames (games) in order to win (e.g. in a ten ahead race a player wins when she/he has won ten more racks than the opponent).^[1] See also race.

Aiming line

An imaginary line drawn from the desired path an object ball is to be sent (usually the center of a pocket) and the center of the object ball.^[3]

Anchor nurse

A type of nurse used in carom billiards games. With one object ball frozen to a cushion and the second object ball just slightly away from the rail, the cue ball is gently rebounded across the face of both balls, freezing the away ball to the rail and moving the frozen ball away the same distance its partner was previously, resulting in an identical but reversed configuration, in position to be struck again by the cue ball from the opposite side.^[1]:9 Compare cradle cannon.

Anchor space

A 7 inch (17.8 cm) square box drawn on a balkline table from the termination of a balkline with the rail, thus defining a restricted space in which only 3 points may be scored before one ball must be driven from the area. It developed to curtail the effectiveness of the chuck nurse, which in turn had been invented to thwart the effectiveness of the Parker's box in stopping long, repetitive runs using the anchor nurse.^[1]

Angle of incidence

The angle at which a ball approaches a rail, as measured from the perpendicular to the rail.^[4]:120 The phrase has been in use since as early as 1653.^[1]

Angle of reflection

The angle from which a ball rebounds from a rail, as measured from the perpendicular to the rail.^[1][4]:120

Angled ball

In snooker and pool, a ball situated in the jaws of a pocket such that the ball on cannot be struck directly.^[1][5]:32 Compare corner-hooked.

Arc

The arc of the cue ball is the extent to which it curves as a result of a semi-massé or massé shot.

Apex

Also apex ball, apex of the triangle or apex of the rack. The ball placed at the front of a group of racked balls situated over the table's foot spot.^[5]:32

Around the table

In carom games, a shot in which in attempting to score, the cue ball contacts three or more cushions, usually including both short rails.^[5]

B

Back

Same as stake.^[1]

Back cut

A cut shot in which if a line were drawn from the cue ball to the rail behind the targeted object ball, perpendicular to that rail, the object ball would lie beyond the line with respect to the pocket being targeted.^[6]

Backer

Same as stakehorse.

Back spin

Also backspin, back-spin.^[1] Same as draw. See illustration at spin. Contrast top spin.

Baize

Main article: Baize

A coarse woolen cloth used to cover billiard tables, usually green in colour and sometimes called felt based on a similarity in appearance, though very different in makeup.^[1]

Balance point

The point, usually around 18 in. from the bottom of a cue, at which the cue will balance when resting on one hand.^[1][5]:32

Balkline

Also balk line.

1. A type of carom billiards game created to eliminate very high runs in straight-rail.^[1]:15
2. A line drawn horizontally from a point on a billiard table's rail to the corresponding point on the opposite rail, thus defining a region of the eponymous balkline table in which only a set number of caroms may be scored before at least one ball must leave the area.^[1]:15

Not to be confused with baulk line.

Ball-in-hand

Also cue ball in-hand. The option of placing the cue ball anywhere on the table prior to shooting. Usually only available to a player when the opposing player has committed some type of foul under a particular game's rules^{[1][5]:32, 36} (cf. the free throw in basketball by way of comparison). See also in-hand for the snooker definition. A common variation, used in games such as straight pool and often in bar pool, is ball-in-hand behind the headstring/behind the line/from the kitchen, meaning the ball-in-hand option is resticted to placement anywhere behind the head string—the area of a table known as the kitchen.

Ball-on

Not always hyphenated. Plural: balls-on.^[7] Also on[-]ball. Any legally strikable ball on the table in generally British terminology.^[5] For example, in blackball,^[7] if a player is playing yellows, any yellow ball (or any solid, from 1 to 7, if using a solids-and-stripes ball set) can be the "ball-on" until they are all potted, in which case the 8 ball is the ball-on. In snooker, at the beginning of a player's turn, unless all are already potted, any red ball can be the "ball-on".^[1] Compare object ball.

Ball return

A collection bin mounted below the foot end of a table to which balls potted in any pocket will return by means of gravity assisted gutters or troughs running from each pocket opening to the bin. Ball returns have been in use since at least the 1700s. Pockets which simply collect balls are known as drop pockets.^[1] A table without a ball return may be called a "drop pocket table", while a table featuring a ball return may be called a "gully table."^{[5]:37, 39}

Banger

A derogatory term for a recreational or beginning player who "bangs" the balls without any thought for position nor attempt to control the cue ball; also a reference to the predilection of beginners to often hit the cue ball far harder than necessary.^[8] See also potter.

Bank

1. Same as cushion.
2. Same as bank shot.

Bank shot

Also bank. Shot in which an object ball is driven to one or more rails prior to being pocketed (or in some contexts, prior to reaching its intended target; not necessarily a pocket). Sometimes "bank" is conflated to refer to kick shots as well, and in the UK it is often called a double.^[1][5]:32

Bank-the-8

A rule variant common in bar pool versions of eight-ball, in which the 8 ball must be pocketed on a bank shot (or sometimes on either a bank shot proper or a kick shot); shooting the 8 straight in is a loss of game. Players may agree before the game begins to invoke this rule, or one player may challenge another player (who might accept or refuse) to conclude the game in this manner after if is already under way. Playing bank-the-8 can be considered rude if many other players are waiting to use the table, since it often makes the game last considerably longer.

Bar player

Also bar league player. A player that predominantly plays in bars/pubs, or is in a bar-based pool league. Often used pejoratively by pool hall players to refer to a perceived lesser skill level of such players. See also bar pool, bar table.

Bar pool

This section contains a level of detail that appears better suited to a stand-alone article and beyond the scope a single entry in a list.

Also bar rules. Pool, almost always a variant of eight-ball, that is played by bar players on a bar table. Bar pool has rules that vary from region to region, sometimes even from venue to venue in the same city, especially in the U.S. It is thus always a good idea to understand/agree to rules before engaging in a money game under bar rules. Typical differences between bar pool and tournament eight-ball are the lack of ball-in-hand after a foul, the elimination of a number of fouls, and (in U.S. bar pool) the requirement that most aspects of a shot (rails and other balls to be contacted) be called, not just the object ball and pocket. Bar pool has evolved into this "nitpicky" version principally to make the games last longer, since bar pool is typically played on coin-operated tables that cost money per-game rather than per-hour. Competitive league pool played on bar tables, however, usually uses international, national or local/regional league rules, and is not what is usually meant by "bar pool". Depending on local dialect may also be called tavern pool, pub pool, etc. Not to be confused with the game of Bar billiards.

A common protocol for determining the sequence of players for coin-operated bar tables in the United States involves indicating one's desire to play by placing the requisite coins (usually quarters) in some visible spot on or near the table (but not so that they interfere with play). The first person to have his "quarters up" will play the winner of the current match.

Bar table

Also bar box. Distinctive pool tables found in bars/taverns. They are almost always coin-operated and smaller than tables found in pool rooms and professional venues. Typical bar boxes are 3.5 ft (1.1 m) x 7 ft (2.1 m), though 4x8 and even 3x6 examples can sometimes be found). Most North American brands of bar tables have pocket proportions confusingly opposite those of regular tables—the side pockets are remarkably tight, while the corners are more generous than those of pool hall tables. Because they are coin-operated and capture pocketed balls, they employ one of several mechanisms to return a scratched cue ball. The oversized, and extra-dense cue ball methods are deprecated, because these cue balls do not play correctly (especially with regard to cut and stop/draw shots, respectively; cf. smash-through). Modern bar tables make use of a magnet and a regulation or near-regulation size and weight cue ball with an iron core, to separate the cue ball from the others and return it to the players.^[9] Pool hall players complain also that the cloth used on bar tables is often greatly inferior (in particular that it is "slow" and that english does not "take" enough), and often find that the cushions are not as responsive as they are used to.^[1]

Baulk

Also baulk area. In snooker, English billiards, and blackball,^[7] the area of the bottom of the table that is between the baulk line and the baulk cushion, which houses the "D" and is somewhat analogous to the kitchen in American-style pool.^[1][5]:33

Baulk colour

In snooker, any of the three colour balls that get spotted on the baulk line: the yellow, green or brown ball.^[1]

Baulk cushion

In snooker, the cushion opposite the top cushion and bounded by the yellow and green pockets (i.e. same as bottom cushion.^[1]

Baulk line

A straight line drawn 29 inch (73.66 cm) from the face of the baulk cushion on a standard 6 × 12 foot snooker table.^[1] Its positioning varies on other sizes of tables. Baulk lines may also be drawn on English billiards tables, and even British-style pool tables. The baulk line is an integral part of the "D". The baulk line's position is always determined by measurement from the baulk cushion, in contrast to the similar but different head string, the position of which is determined by the diamonds. Not to be confused with balkline.

Baulk rail

Same as bottom rail (UK), head rail (US).

Bed

The playing area of a table, exclusive of the cushions.^[1][5]:33

Be in stroke

See In stroke.

Below

Used in snooker in reference to the position of the cue ball. It is "below" the object ball if it is off-straight on the top cushion side of the imaginary line for a straight pot (e.g. he'll want to finish below the black in order to go into the reds). This may seem counterintuitive, see above for an explanation.

Big

Also bigs, big balls, big ones. In eight-ball, to be shooting the striped suit (group) of balls (9 through 15); "you're big, remember", "you're big balls" or "I've got the big ones".^[1] Compare stripes, yellows, high, overs; contrast little. Not to be confused with the carom billiards concept of a big ball.

Big ball

A carom billiards metaphor, it refers to an object ball positioned and being approached in such a manner that a near miss will rebound off a cushion and still score. It is as if the ball were larger than normal, making it easier to contact. Normally a ball a couple inches from a rail is a big ball, but only if being approached from an angle and if all the prerequisite rails have already been contacted. A ball near a corner can effectively be a foot wide. Not to be confused with the eight-ball term "the big balls". In older British usage the concept was referred to as "large ball".^[1] See also "big pocket".

Big pocket

A pocket billiards and occasionally snooker term (inherited from carom billiards by way of "big ball", above), it is a metaphor for a shot that is very difficult to miss pocketing for any of a number of reasons, most commonly either because the object ball is positioned such that a near miss on one side of it will likely cause the cue ball to rebound into the object ball off the rail and pocket it anyway, or another ball is positioned such that if the target ball does not go straight in, it is still likely to go in off the other ball in a kiss. It is as if the pocket, for this one shot, had become larger. The term can also refer to the angle of shot toward a pocket, especially a side pocket; the pocket is said to be "bigger", for example, on a shot that is only a 5-degree angle away from straight on, than on a 45-degree angle shot which is much more likely to hit one of the cushion points and bounce away.

Billiard

Also billiard shot.

1. Any shot in which the cue ball is caromed off an object ball to strike another object ball (with or without contacting cushions in the interim).^[1]
2. In certain carom billiards games such as three-cushion, a successful attempt at making a scoring billiard shot under the rules for that game (such as contacting three cushions with the cue ball while executing the billiard). A failed attempt at scoring would, in this context, not be called "a billiard" by players of such games even if it satisfied the first, more general definition.^[5]

Billiards

1. In the US, Canada and in many different countries and languages (under various spellings) as well as historically, generally refers to all cue sports;
2. Sometimes refers to just carom games as opposed to Pocket billiards (especially in the US and Canada);
3. In British terminology, chiefly refers to the game known in the rest of the world as English Billiards.

Black ball

Also the black.

1. In snooker, the highest-value colour ball on the table, being worth seven points.^[1] In some (especially American) snooker ball sets it is numbered "7" on its surface.
2. The black ball (usually numbered "8") in the eight-ball variant game blackball (and its variants); also the common British term for the slightly larger but otherwise identical 8 ball in a kelly pool set (a.k.a. American or WPA pool set).^[7]. See also 8 ball.

Blood test

Any very difficult shot that must be made under pressure.^[10]

Blue ball

1. In snooker, the colour ball worth 5 points, whose spot is at the center of the table.^[1]
2. Also the blues. In the eight-ball game variant blackball, and sometimes in UK eight-ball more generally, a differently colored but otherwise identical replacement for the red group (i.e., what would be the solids in an American-style pool ball set).^[11]

Body english

The useless but common practice of contorting one's body while a shot is in play, as if in the vain hope that this will influence the balls' trajectories; the term is considered humorous.^[1]

Bottle

Also shake bottle, pea bottle, pill bottle, kelly bottle, tally bottle. The bottle used in various games to hold numbered peas, it is employed to assign random spots to players in a roster (such as in a tournament), or to assign random balls to players of a game (such as in kelly pool and bottle pool).^[1][5]

Bottom

1. Chiefly British: The half of the table from which the break shot is taken. This usage is conceptually opposite that in North America, where this end of the table is called the head. Contrast top. See also baulk.
2. Chiefly American: Exactly the opposite of the above – the foot end of the table. No longer in common usage.
3. Short for bottom spin, i.e. same as screw (British), draw (American).

Bottom cushion

Chiefly British: The cushion on the bottom rail. Also known as the baulk cushion, especially in snooker. Compare head cushion; contrast top cushion.

Bottom rail

Chiefly British: The short rail at the bottom of the table. Traditionally this is the rail on which the table manufacturer's logo appears. Also known as the baulk rail, especially in snooker. Compare head rail; contrast top rail.

Bottom spin

Also bottomspin, bottom-spin, bottom. Same as back spin, i.e. screw (UK), draw (US).. Contrast top spin. See illustration at spin.

Break

1. Also break shot or break off, as a noun. Typically describes the first shot in most types of billiards games. In carom games it describes the first point attempt, as shot from an unvarying cue ball and object balls placement; in many pocket billiards (pool) games it describes the first shot, which is used to separate the object balls which have been racked together;^[1]
2. A series of consecutive pots by a player during a single inning. Most often applied in snooker and English billiards, e.g., "The player had a break of 89 points".^[1][5](chiefly British; compare US run). See also Highest snooker break.

Break and dish

Same as Break and run (chiefly British).

Break and run

Also break and run out. Chiefly American: In pool games, when a player breaks the racked object balls, pockets at least one ball on the break, and commences to run out the remaining object balls without the opponent getting a visit at the table. Hyphenated when used as an adjective or compound noun instead of a verbal phrase. See also run the table.

Break box

Diagram showing the break box and its relation to the kitchen area and head string.

In European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) nine-ball, a zone in the "kitchen" of the head (British: bottom of the table, from which the break shot must be taken with the cue ball,^[12][13] not unlike the "D" zone used in snooker, English billiards and blackball. The break box consists of the middle 50% of the kitchen area, delimited laterally by the head rail (British: bottom rail) and head string (not the baulk line), and longitudinally by two parallel lines drawn from the head rail diamonds that are closest to the head corner pockets, out to the head string (see illustration to the right). This departure from WPA World Standardised Rules defeats the common break-from-the-side-rail technique for pocketing the 9 ball on the break to win the game instantly; while 9 ball breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult under the new rule.^[12] This EPBF Euro-Tour requirement was recently added to the Europe vs. US all-star team event, the Mosconi Cup, but has not otherwise been seen much by non-Europeans.

Break down one's cue

To take one's two-piece cue stick apart. When done before a game's conclusion, it often indicates that the game is conceded.^[1]

Bridge

Either the player's hand or a mechanical bridge used to support the shaft end of the cue stick during a shot. Also the particular hand formation used for this purpose (there are many).^[1][5]

Bridge hand

The hand used by a player as a bridge during a normal shot that doesn't involve a mechanical bridge. The bridge hand is usually a player's non-dominant hand.^[1]

Brown ball

Also brown. In snooker, the highest-value baulk colour, being worth 4 points.^[1]

Bumper

The bumper on the bottom of a cue, usually made from rubber, which insulates the butt cap from contact with the floor and greatly reduces noise. The bumper was first patented in 1880.^[1]

Burnish

To seal the pores of a wooden cue by rubbing it vigorously with some material, usually leather; also done to the edge of a cue tip to fortify it against mushrooming.

Business, doing

Collusion between matchplay opponents who prearrange who will win a match on which other people's money is wagered, in order to guarantee a payday.^[1]

Butt

The bottom portion of a pool cue which is gripped by a player's hand.^[1][5]

Butt cap

A protective cap mounted on the end of the butt of a cue.

Button

A point bead on a scoring string.^[14]

C

Calcutta

A player's auction at a pool tournament. Each player is called and players and spectators bid on the player. The highest bidder(s) pays their bid to the calcutta, and by doing so invest in that player's success. If a player wins or places in the tournament, those who "bought" the player receive a percentage of the total calcutta payout, usually tracking the percentage payout of the tournament prize fund. Typically, players have the option of purchasing half of themselves when the high bid is won by a third party. Like english and scotch doubles, usually not capitalized.

Call

Any instance of a player having to say what they are about to do, or have already done. For example, in eight-ball a player must call the pocket in which a ball is intended to be pocketed. Contrast fish, slop.

Call-shot

Also called-shot; call-pocket or called-pocket; ball-and-pocket. Any game in which during normal play a player must call the ball to be hit and the intended pocket; "eight-ball is a call-shot game."^[5] Sometimes referred to as "call[ed]-pocket", "call the ball and pocket", etc., to distinguish it from the common American bar pool practice of requiring every aspect of shots to be called, such as caroms, kick shots, and cushions to be contacted (this is sometimes also ambiguously referred to as "call-shot", or more accurately "call-everything" or "call-it-all"). See also gentlemen's call.

Called ball

The ball designated by a player to be pocketed on a shot.^[5]

Called pocket

The pocket designated by a player to which a ball is to be shot.^[5]

Cannon

British and sometimes Canadian term for carom.

Card

Short for tournament card.^[14]

Carom

Carom came into use in the 1860s and is a shortening of carambola, which was earlier used to describe the red object ball used in many billiards games.^[1] Carom generally refers to any type of strike and rebound,^[15] off a rail or ball, but may also be used as short for a carom shot in which a point is scored in carom billiards games by careening the cue ball into the two object balls.^[5] Also called a cannon in British terminology.

Carambole

Also spelled carombola.

1. The red ball in carom games, derived from an orange-colored, tropical Asian fruit, called a carambola in English, which was a corruption of the original name of the fruit, karambal in the Marathi language of India.^[1][16]
2. A general purpose term for carom billiards games;
3. Alternate name for the game of straight rail;
4. A carom.

Catch a stroke

See Stroke, catch a.

Center spot

Also centre spot, middle spot. The (usually unmarked) spot at the geometric center of the bed of a table.^[5] It lies at the intersection of the center string and long string.

Center string

Also centre string. The (usually unmarked) line bisecting the centers of the two side pockets (if any) and the center spot. It runs horizontally (i.e. the short way) across the dead center of the table. Its intersection with the long string defines the position of the center spot.

Centre pocket

In the UK, one of the two pockets one either side of a pool, snooker or English billiards table halfway up the long rails. They are cut shallower than corner pockets because they have a 180 degree aperture, instead of 90 degrees. Also commonly called a middle pocket. These terms are not generally used in the US, where "side pocket" prevails.

Century

Also century break. In snooker and English billiards, a break of 100 points or more, which involves potting at least 25 balls consecutively, in snooker, but can be earned via a combination of scoring techniques in English billiards. See also double century.

Chalk

A powdered substance placed on a cue stick's tip to increase its friction and thereby decrease slippage between the tip and cue ball. See also hand chalk.

Chasing one's money

The inability of some players to stop gambling once they have lost money because they "have" to get their money back.

Cheat the pocket

To aim at an object ball such that it will enter one side or the other, rather than the center, of a pocket. This permits the cue ball to strike the object ball at a different contact point than the most obvious one. Employed for position play and to prevent scratches on dead-straight shots in cases where draw is not desirable (or may not be dependable, e.g. because of smash-through).

Check side

A type of spin imparted to the cue ball to make it rebound from a cushion at a shallower angle than it would if the spin had not been used.

Chinese snooker

Chinese snooker on the red ball

A situation where the cue ball is directly in front of another ball in the line of the shot such that the player is hampered by it, having to bridge over it awkwardly. This term is most commonly used in the game of snooker.

Chuck nurse

Known as a rocking cannon in British terminology. A type of nurse used in carom billiards games. With one object ball frozen to a cushion and the second object ball a few inches away from the rail, the cue ball is gently rebounded off the frozen ball not moving it, but with just enough speed to meet the other object ball which rocks in place, but does not change position. Developed to thwart the restrictions emplaced by the Parker's box.^{[17]:8 [18]}

Choke

To commit errors while shooting, especially at the money ball, due to pressure. See also dog, one-stroke.

Cinch a ball

To play a shot with the stroke and speed that makes it easiest to pocket the object ball, even at the expense of sacrificing position.^[6]

Cinch a pocket

To maneuver a ball on a shot so that it will be favorably positioned for later play into a particular pocket, even at the expense of sacrificing position or the inning to achieve that result.^[6]

Cinch position

To play a shot using a more difficult application of stroke and speed to achieve a certain desired position for the next shot, even at the expense of or sharply increasing the likelihood of a miss.^[6]

Clean

1. Chiefly British. Describing a pot that goes straight into the pocket without touching either knuckle.
2. Chiefly American. Describing a shot in bar pool: the pocketing of an object ball in a manner such that the target object ball does not kiss any other object ball, and is not banked, kicked, caromed, or combo'd in, and without double-kissing, though it may hit the knuckles, and depending upon local bar-rules may be allowed to contact either of the cushions, not just at the knuckle, that run into the target pocket. Usage example: "The 7 in that corner, clean". Usage can be narrower, to indicate clean other than as already specified, e.g. "bank the 7 in that corner, clean".

Clearance

In snooker and British pool, the successful potting of all object balls-on in a single frame. A player is said to have "cleared up" or to have "cleared the table". Also, if a snooker player compiles a break consisting of all 15 reds with colours, then the colours in sequence, this is known as a "total clearance". Compare break and run.

Cling

Phenomenon where two balls, (usually the cue ball and an object ball) have some foreign material, most often residual chalk, between them at the point of contact, which throws the shot offline, causing the object ball to take a straighter angle than normal, and often also affecting the post-impact path of the cue ball. A typical precaution against cling is to ask for the cue ball and/or object ball to be cleaned by the referee in order to remove chalk that is already on the ball prior to the shot. However, no precaution can be made against a kick that occurs as a result of the chalk applied from tip of the cue stick to the cue ball during a shot. Coincidental cling can therefore cause unpredictable play and occasionally lead to simple shots to be missed at even the highest levels of the game.^[19] "Cling" (and derived words like "clung", "clinger", "clinging", etc.) may be used as a mass noun, less commonly as a count noun, as a verb, and rarely as an adjective ("cling is annoying", "two clings in one frame", "they clung", "unintentional cling shot", respectively). Also known as skid, or in the UK, kick (sense 2). See also dead ball, sense 2.

Closed bridge

A bridge formed by the hand where the index finger is curved over the cue stick and other fingers are spread on the cloth providing solid support for the cue stick's direction.

Cloth

The baize cloth covering the tables playing surface and rails, usually made from wool or a wool-nylon blend. Sometimes cloth is improperly referred to as "felt."

Cluster

Two or more object balls that are touching or are close together.

Cocked-hat double

Also cocked hat double. A term applied especially in snooker for a type of double off three cushions, e.g. around the baulk colours and into a centre pocket. Such a shot is very difficult to make and would not normally be played as anything more than a shot for nothing.

Collision-induced side spin

Side spin imparted to an object ball by the friction from the hit of the cue ball during a cut shot.

Collision-induced throw

Deflection of an object ball's path away from the impact line of a cut shot, caused by sliding friction between the cue ball and the object ball. One of the two types of throw.

Colour ball

Also coloured ball(s), colour(s)

1. In snooker, any of the object balls that are not reds. A colour ball must be potted after each red in the continuation of a break, and are re-spotted until the reds run out, after which the colours must be potted in their order:

• yellow (2 points);
• green (3 points);
• brown (4 points);
• blue (5 points);
• pink (6 points);
• black (7 points).

Although the full term includes "ball" after the colour, they are most commonly referred to with the omission of "ball", just stating the colour (e.g. "he's taken 5 blacks with reds so far").

2. In blackball, a generic, collective term for the red and yellow groups of object balls, corresponding to the (originally American, but used much more widely today) solids and stripes, respectively.^[7]

Combination shot

Also combination, combo. Any shot in which the cue ball contacts an object ball, which in turn hits one or more additional object balls (which in turn may hit yet further object balls) to send the last-hit object ball to an intended place, usually a pocket.^[5] In the UK this is often referred to as a plant.

Contact point

The point on each of two balls at which they touch at the moment of impact.^[5]

Containing safety

A type of safety shot in the middle of a safety exchange that is not intended to put the opponent in a difficult situation regarding their next safety, but rather played so as to not leave an easy pot on. A typical example in snooker, which sees the most shots of this kind, is a slow roll-up into the pack.

Corner-hooked

When the corner lip of a pocket blocks the path of the cue ball from contacting an intended object ball. Interchangeable with "tittie-hooked".^[5]

Corner pocket

Any of the four pockets in each corner of a pool or snooker table. They have a 90 degree aperture and as such are cut deeper than center pockets, which have 180 degree apertures.

Count

A successful shot or score; more common in carom games.^[5]

Count, the

The running score during a game inning where multiple successive points have been made.^[5]

Cradle cannon

A type of nurse shot used in English billiards in which two coloured balls are positioned on either side of the mouth of a snooker table pocket but not touching and, thus placed, can be successively contacted and scored off over and over by the cue ball without moving them. It first known use was by Walter Lovejoy in 1907. The unofficial record using the shot is held by Tom Reece who in 1907, over the course of a month, scored 499,135 points using the Cradle cannon before stopping without missing. This feat prompted the Billiards Association to outlaw the shot. The official record is held by William Cook with 42,746 points scored.^[1]:62 Compare anchor nurse.

Creep

Deviation of a ball from its initial direction of travel. Often the result of a poor-quality table and may be an artifact of the cloth, the bed, a ball with uneven weight distribution, or simply the floor the table stands on being uneven. It should not be confused with the nap of the cloth.

Cribbage

A set of paired balls in the game of cribbage pool that have a number value which combined equal 15. For example, the 8 ball and the 7 ball added together equal 15 and thus constitute one cribbage if pocketed in succession.^[20]

Cross

Also cross rake or jigger. A type of rest, with a straight shaft and "x"-shaped head for resting the cue upon.

Cross-corner

A bank shot that rebounds from a cushion into a corner pocket across the table.^[5]

Cross double

A British term describing a bank shot in which the cue ball crosses the future path of the object ball. Such shots are usually played into a center pocket because there is the danger of a double-kiss if played to a corner pocket.

Cross-side

A bank shot that rebounds from a cushion and into a side pocket.^[5]

Crotch

The corner formed by the rails on a carom billiards table. In modern straight rail rules, only three counts may be made while both object balls are inside the boundaries of the crotch before one ball must be driven away. The boundaries of each of the four crotch areas are measured by drawing a line from the first diamond on the end rail to the second diamond on the long rail.^[5]

Crucible Curse

Main article: Crucible Curse

The phenomenon that (as of 2008) no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship, at the Crucible Theatre, has successfully defended the title the following year.

Cue

1. Noun: Also cue stick. A stick, usually around 55-60" in length with a tip made of a material such as leather on the end and sometimes with a joint in the middle, which is used to propel billiard balls. For more information see the cue stick main article.
2. Noun: Sometimes "cue" is short for cue ball.
3. Verb: Same as stroke, definition 1

Cue action

Chiefly British: The posture and timing used by players on their shots, often indicative of how they play in their shot selection. A fast, natural player would tend to be more aggressive whereas a less naturally-gifted player might have a slow action and tend to be more conservative on the table. It is widely thought that better snooker players get lower to the table with their chins on the cue, have a straight back leg, their elbow hinging in line with the shot, and a straight follow-through after the cue ball has been struck.^{citations needed}

Cue ball

Also cueball. The ball in nearly any cue sport, typically white in color, that a player strikes with a cue stick.^[5] Sometimes referred to as the "white ball", "whitey" or "the rock". For more information, see the billiard ball main article.

Cue ball control

See position play.

Cue power

A British term describing the amount of control a player can retain when playing shots with heavy spin and great pace; "it took tremendous cue power to get onto the 2 ball having been relatively straight on the 1."

Cue stick

Also cuestick. Same as cue.

Cue tip

For more details on this topic, see Cue stick#Tips.

A material, usually leather, placed on the end of a cue stick which comes in contact with the cue ball.^[5]

Curve shot

Same as semi-massé. Compare #Swerve shot.

Cueist

A player of cue sports.

Cushion

The elastic bumpers mounted on all rails of a billiards table, usually made from rubber or synthetic rubber, from which the balls rebound.^[5]

Cut shot

Technically, any shot that is not a center-to-center hit, but almost always employed when describing a shot that has more than a slight degree of angle.^[5]

D

"D", the

A semicircle with an 11¹⁄₂ inch (291 mm) radius, drawn behind a snooker table's baulk line, centred on the middle of the line, and resembling the upper case letter "D" in shape. The "D" is also used in English billiards and sometimes also in blackball and other pool games played on British-style tables.^[5]

Dart stroke

A short and loose stroke performed in a manner similar to the way one throws a dart; usually employed for a jump shot.

Dead

Same as wired.

Dead cushion

Same as dead rail.^[6]

Dead ball

1. Short for dead ball shot.
2. A ball that has been used for some time, with a dirty surface, as opposed to a slick new (or highly-polished used) ball.^[14] A spinning dead ball with transfer more spin to other balls it comes into contact with, and not be as fast on the cloth. Even cut shot angles may be affected because of the cling or skid (British: kick) effect, and professional players often ask a referee to clean a ball, mid-game.^{citations needed} Others may actually be more used to dead balls and prefer them.^[14]

Dead ball shot

Same as kill shot.^[5]

Dead rail

A cushion that has either lost a degree of elastic resiliency or is not firmly bolted to the frame, in both cases causing balls to rebound with less energy than is normal.

Dead stroke

When a player is playing flawlessly, just "cannot miss" and the game seems effortless.

Deadweight

Describing a pot played at such a pace as to just reach the pocket and drop in without hitting the back.

Deflection<