Spin on the ball and the movement of the pins caused by that
spin. A relatively slow ball with a lot of action can be much more effective than a very fast ball with little action.
Last bowler to roll for a team; usually the team's best
bowler. It originally comes from tug-of-war, where the strongest,
heaviest man on the team is stationed at the end as an anchor.
angle
The direction at which the ball is traveling when it enters
the pocket.
A frame after which one bowler has to buy beer for all the
others. This is often a pre-determined frame, with the low scorer
in that frame getting stuck with the tab. Sometimes, if all
bowlers but one roll strikes in a frame, that becomes the beer
frame and the bowler who didn't strike has to buy.
bench jockeying
As in baseball, conversation or gibes meant to distract an
opponent.
bender
A curve or hook that nearly falls into the gutter before
beginning to break.
A score marked for a team's absent player. In many leagues,
the bowler's average or the average minus ten pins is used. In
others, it's a set score, such as 140 for men and 120 for women.
A strike on which the ball misses the head pin. So called because the 4, 2, and 1 pins usually fall slowly, like dominos, after the rest of the pins are down.
A ball that hits the pins slowly and with little action.
dead wood
Pins that remain on the lane or in the gutter after being
knocked down. They are removed in ten-pin, but left in place in
both candlepin and duckpin bowling.
Crossing or touching the foul line at delivery. It's
penalized by a count of zero pins. If the foul occurs on the
first ball of a frame, the bowler gets a second shot at a new
rack.
Pins added to a bowler's score to help equalize competition.
The handicap is based on the bowler's average as compared to some
arbitrary number set by the league. If that number is, for
example, 180, and the bowler's average is 145, the handicap would
be 35 pins.
hard way
Converting the 2-7 or 3-10 split by knocking the front pin
into the back pin. (The standard way of converting is to hit both
pins with the ball.)
The distance the ball travels between time of release and the
time it hits the lane. A bowler often needs to adjust the loft
somewhat to increase or decrease rotation.
lofting
The act of throwing the ball onto the lane instead of rolling
it.
logs
Heavy pins that are often used for practice, since they
generally require more precise hits to achieve good scores.
A split that isn't terribly difficult to convert, though it may not exactly be easy.
maples
Pins, because that's the wood they used to be made from.
mark
A spare or strike, so called because of the identifying mark
put on the score sheet.
match play
A kind of competition in which two bowlers compete against
one another, rather than against the field as a whole. Typically,
the winner of a match advances to the next round for another
match.
medal play
A kind of competition in which only the total pin scores
count toward the championship.
messenger
A pin that rolls across the lane late, after all of the other
action has taken place.
A frame in which the bowler doesn't get a strike or a spare.
open bowling
Bowling for the fun of it, as opposed to competing in league
or tournament play.
out and in
A hook that's initially thrown toward the gutterand then breaks back across the lane toward the pocket.
out of bounds
An area from which the ball can't get to the pocket with its usual break. If, for example, a right-handed bowler delivers the ball from too far to the right, it is said to be out of bounds.
To a professional bowler, a 200 game. See also over; under.
part of the building/house
Said of the 7 or 10 pin when it remains solidly standing
after an apparently perfect hit. Used in a phrase such as, "That pin must be part of the building."
The space between the head pin and the 3-pin for right-handed bowlers, the 2-pin for left-handed bowlers. This is the target for the first ball in a frame.
poison ivy
The 3-6-10 split.
poodle
To throw a gutter ball; probably a facetious corruption of
puddle.
pot game
A type of gambling competition in which two or more bowlers
put money in the pot and the high scorer wins it all.
Markers in the lane that help the bowler determine the target
line. There are two sets of such markers: ten dots located seven
feet past the foul line and seven arrows arranged in a triangle
beginning 16 feet beyond the foul line.
Experimentation, usually during practice, to determine the
characteristics of a lane. Some lanes are faster than others,
some will allow a bigger hook while others will hold the ball
back, etc.
Generally, the pins standing after first ball is rolled;
often used to mean a leave on which it's relatively easy to get a
spare, as opposed to a split leave.
spiller
A strike on a light hit that causes the pins to fall slowly.
A leave on which some of the remaining pins are rather widely separated, making a spare relatively difficult. The 7-10 is the most difficult to convert.
spot bowling
Using a particular target on the lane, rather than the pins
themselves, as an aiming point. Many bowlers use the range finders, for example.
The feat of knocking down all ten pins with the first ball.
The score for the frame is 10 plus the total number of pins
knocked down by the next two balls.
strike out
Usually, getting all three strikes in the tenth frame; also
sometimes the same as punch out.
strike split
A split that results from what was apparently a strike hit.
Usually the 8-10 split for a right-handed bowler and the 7-9 for
a lefty.
Similar to the baseball's "no-hit jinx"; when a player opens
with several consecutive strikes strikes, it's considered bad luck to mention the possibility of a 300 game.
Said of a bowler who scores well by rolling a very fast ball.
tickler
The 6-pin, when it very gently knocks over the 10-pin,
resulting in a strike.
topping the ball
Keeping the thumb in the ball too long at release, resulting
in little action because the fingers go over the top of the ball instead of behind it or to one side.
A high hit that nevertheless results in a strike; so called
because the pins fan out as they fall into something like an umbrella pattern, rather than being scattered around.
