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ABC. American Bowling Congress. Official rule making body of ten-pin bowling. |
Alley (also lane bed). Surface on which the ball is rolled. |
Approach (also runway). The space extending back from the foul line used to make the steps and delivery. |
Arrows. The triangles embedded on the lane used in aiming the throw. |
| Baby split. The 2-7 or 3-10 split. |
| Backup ball. A ball that curves left to right for a right-handed bowler or right to left for a left-handed bowler. |
| Bed posts. The 7-10 split. |
| Big four (also double pinochle). The 4-6-7-10 split. |
| Blind score. When a league bowler is "blind" and can't find his/her way to the league that evening, the bowler's average is simply used (as if he/she just bowled that score) when figuring the team's total for each game. |
| Blocking. Creating an illegal track to the strike pocket by the way the lane is dressed (oiled). |
| Blow. A miss or an error failing to covert a spare other than a split. |
| Brooklyn (also crossover). Refers to a ball that crosses over to the other side of the headpin opposite the side it was thrown (i.e. a Brooklyn strike hit the 1-2 pocket for a right-hander). |
| Bucket. The 2-4-5-8 or 3-5-6-9 leave after the first throw. |
| Carry. To knock down a pin or pins. |
| Channel (also gutter). Semicircular grooves or drop-off area on each side of the bowling surface. |
| Cherry. To pick off the front pin or pins but leaving the back pin on a spare attempt. |
| Christmas tree. The 3-7-10 split for a rt. hander; 2-7-10 split for a left hander |
| Clothesline (also picket fence). The 1-2-4-7 or 1-3-6-10 pins still standing after the first ball. |
| Count. Usually the number of pins knocked down in the next frame that apply to a spare or strike. |
| Creeper (also known as a puff ball). A slow ball. |
| Curve ball. A ball thrown with spin that follows a wide arc toward the pins. |
| Dead ball. A weak ball that has lost its drive, rotation, or forward thrust |
| Deadwood. Pins that have been knocked down. |
| Delivery. The rolling of the ball. |
| Double. Two consecutive strikes. |
| Dutch 200. A game of exactly 200 by alternately rolling spares and strikes. |
| Field goal. A missed throw between widely separated pins hitting nothing but air. |
| Foul. Touching the foul line or beyond in any way when delivering the ball. |
| Foul line. The restraining line between the lane and the approach. |
| Four bagger. Throwing four strikes in a row. |
| Frame. One of ten units that comprise a game (represented by a large square and smaller squares within on the score sheet). |
| Game. A line on the score sheet consisting of 10 frames. (Same as Line.) |
| Goal posts. The 7-10 split. (Same as Bed posts.) |
| Graveyard(s). An extremely difficult lane in the house. |
| Gutter (also channel). Semicircular grooves on each side of the surface on which the ball rolls. |
| Gutter ball (also channel ball). An errant ball that enters the gutter before reaching the pins. |
| Handicap. An adjustment in scores in order to equalize competition by adding pins on a predetermined basis. |
| Head pin. The number one pin. |
| High hit. A solid hit on a pin due to contact near its front center; hitting too much head pin on a strike attempt. |
| Holding lane. A lane where the ball does not curve or hook much. |
| Hook. A ball that initially moves straight down the alley and curves towards the pin (from right to left for a right-hander or left to right for a left-hander) on the latter part of the lane. |
| House. The bowling establishment or building. |
| Kegler. A bowler (German word). |
| Kickbacks. The side boards around the pins that divide lanes where pins frequently rebound or "kick" back onto the lane aiding in pin action. |
| King pin. The number 5 pin. It is a key pin to produce a strike: a light pocket hit or deflected leaves this pin still standing. |
| Lane bed. The surface on which the ball is rolled. |
| League. Organized competition on a weekly basis for team play. |
| Leave. Pins left standing after the first ball has been rolled. |
| Lift. Upward motion on the ball at the point of release. (As the ball rolls from the fingers of the up swinging hand, spin is imparted to help drive the ball.) |
| Light hit. A ball hitting mostly the side of the pin deflecting it sideways. |
| Line. A game--10 frames. Also refers to the path of the ball from release to the pins. |
| Line bowling. A method of aiming by visualizing the imaginary line the ball will take to the pins. |
| Lofting. Throwing the ball too high above the lane bed. |
| LPBT. Ladies' Professional Bowling Tour. |
| Mark. Making either a spare or strike in a frame. |
| Miss. An error in a spare attempt other than a split. (Same as a Blow.) |
| Mixer. A ball that creates a lot of pin action. |
| Move in. Adjusting of stance position nearer the center of the approach. |
| Move out. Adjusting of stance position nearer the outside of the approach. |
| Nose. The front of the pin. |
| Oil. Dressing or conditioner used to coat the lanes. |
| Open frame. A frame having neither a spare or strike. |
| PBA. Professional Bowlers Association. |
| Perfect game. A game of all strikes--twelve strikes in a row--resulting in bowling's maximum score of 300. |
| Pin bowling. Looking at the pins to aim and throw the ball (better bowlers tend to spot or line bowl). |
| Pin deck. Area on which the pins are set. |
| Planet Bowling. When we turn out all the florescent lights and turn on black light, disco style strobe lights, fog machines and play your favorite music. It's basically a nightclub atmosphere in a bowling center. |
| Pocket. A space between the 1-3 pins for the right-handed bowler; between the 1-2 pins for the left-handed bowler. |
| Pushaway. The pushing out (forward) of the ball to begin the swing (coincide with first step of four-step approach.) |
| Railroad. A split. |
| Rake (also sweep bar). The part of the pin-setting machine that drops and sweeps the fallen pins into the back of the lane. |
| Running lane (opposite of holding lane). A lane where the ball curves a lot relative to a normal delivery. |
| Sandbagging. Deliberating keeping an average low so that person can receive a bigger handicap. |
| Scratch. The actual score the bowler makes; it is without any handicap adjustment (to equalize competition). |
| Six pack. Six strikes in a row!! |
| Sleeper. A rear pin that is not easily seen because of a pin directly in front of it (Ex.: 2-8, 3-9, 1-5). |
| Span. On a bowling ball, the distance between the thumb and finger holes |
| Spare. To knock down with the second throw the pins standing left after the first throw. |
| Split. Various combination of pins standing after a first throw where one or more pins has been knocked down creating a space between standing pins and thus a harder spare. Examples: 4-5, 5-6, 4-7, 6-10, 7-10, 4-6-7-10. |
| Spot. A target on the alley bed (usually the arrows or the dots) where the bowler aims. |
| Spot bowling. A method of aiming the ball in which spots (arrows and dots) on the lane are used as targets rather than looking at the pins during the throw. |
| Stiff lane. A non-hooking lane. |
| Straight ball. Ball thrown that takes a direct path to the pins without curving. |
| Strike. Knocking down all ten pins with the first effort. |
| Strike out. Making three strikes in the tenth frame. |
| Tap. An apparent perfect hit for a strike but one pin is left standing. |
| Thin hit. (See light hit.) |
| Throwing rocks. Piling up strikes with a speed ball. |
| Triple (also turkey). Three consecutive strikes. |
| Turkey. Three consecutive strikes. |
| Vacancy. A "dummy" score used when a team does not have the same number on the team roster as do other teams. The vacancy score is set by the league and carries a handicap the same as if some bowler was carrying that average. |
| Washout. The 1-2-10 or 1-2-4-10 leave for right-handers; 1-3-7 or 1-3-6-7 for left handers. Distinguished from a split due to the head pin (1 pin) still standing. |
| WIBC. Women's International Bowling Congress. |
| Working ball. A ball with great spin that produces a lot of action among the pins. The same ball will break up splits when hit on the nose. |
| Note: Official game (or line) is bowled on a PAIR of lanes. Use of the lanes are alternated frame by frame i.e. odd frames (1,3,5,7,9) are bowled on one lane and even frames (2,4,6,8,10) on the other. |
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