BALL IN HAND - IN HAND, CUE BALL IN HAND.
BANGERS - not a professional player; man playing for fun.
BANK SHOT - a shot in which the object ball is driven to one or more cushions before it is pocketed; incidental contact as a ball moves along and adjacent to a cushion does not qualify as a cushion or bank. It is not an obvious shot and must be called in games requiring called shots.
BED - the playing surface of the table.
BREAK - total scored in one inning.

CALLED BALL - the ball the player has designated to be pocketed on a shot.
CALLED POCKET - the pocket which a player has designated a ball to be shot.
CAROM - to bounce off or glance off an object ball or cushion; a shot in which the cue ball bounces off one ball into another is termed a carom.
CENTER SPOT - the exact center point of a table's playing surface.
CENTER STRING - center line.
CHALK - a dry, slightly abrasive substance that is applied to the cue tip to help assure a non-slip contact between the cue tip and the cue ball.
CLEAN - a shot in which the object ball being played does not touch any other object balls (i.e., no kisses, no combinations).
CLEAR BALL - the all-white ball, devoid of any markings, used in carom games.
CLUSTER - standing back to back balls.
CROSS CORNER - term used to describe a bank shot that will rebound from a cushion and into a corner pocket.
CROSS SIDE - term used to describe a bank shot that will rebound from a cushion and into a side pocket.
CROSS TABLE SHOT - shot in which scoring is accomplished by driving the cue ball across the table between the long cushion.
CUE BALL - the white, unnumbered ball that is always struck by the cue during play.
CUSHION - the cloth-covered rubber which borders the inside of the rails on carom and pocket billiard tables; together the cushions form the outer perimeter of the basic playing surface.
CUT SHOT - a shot in which the cue ball contacts the object ball to one side or the other of full center, thus driving it in a direction other than that of the initial cue ball path.

DEAD BALL - a cue ball stroked in such a manner that virtually all of the speed and/or spin of the cue ball is transferred to the object ball, the cue ball retaining very little or none after contact.
DIAMONDS - inlays or markings on the table rails that are used as reference or target points. The diamonds are essential for the utilization of numerous mathematical systems employed by carom and pocket games players.
DOUBLE - a shot on which the cue ball is struck twice by the cue tip on the same stroke.
DRILL - method and approach to each strike.
DROP POCKETS - type of pockets with no automatic return of the balls to the foot end of the table; balls must be removed manually.
DUCK - CRIPPLE, JAWED BALL, HANGING THE POCKET, HANGER.

END RAIL - short board.
ENGLISH - side spin applied to the cue ball by striking it off center; used to alter the natural roll of the cue ball and/or the object ball.

FEATHER SHOT - a shot in which the cue ball barely touches or grazes the object ball; an extremely thin cut.
FERRULE - a piece of protective material (usually plastic, horn or metal) at the end of the cue shaft, onto which the cue tip is attached.
FLUKE - RAT-IN A BALL, SHITTING IN A BALL.
FOLLOW - a shot in which the cue ball is struck above center and the resulting forward spin causes the cue ball to roll forward after contact with an object ball.
FOLLOW THAT CAR - strike, in which the cue ball follows the object ball in pocket.
FOLLOW-THROUGH - the movement of the cue after contact with the cue ball through the area previously occupied by the cue ball.
FOOT OF TABLE - the end of a carom or pocket billiard table at which the balls are racked or positioned at the start of a game.
FOOT SPOT - the point on the foot end of the table where imaginary lines drawn between the center diamonds of the short rails and the second diamonds of the long rails intersect.
FOOT STRING - a line on the foot end of the table between the second diamonds of the long rails, passing through the foot spot. The foot string is never drawn on the table, and has no use in play.
FOUL - an infraction of the rules of play, as defined in either the general or the specific game rules. (Not all rule infractions are fouls.) Fouls result in a penalty, also dependent on specific game rules.
FROZEN - a ball touching another ball or cushion.

GAME BALL - the ball which, if pocketed legally, would produce victory in a game.
GATHER SHOT - a shot on which appropriate technique and speed are employed to drive one or more balls away from the other(s) in such a manner that when the stroke is complete, the balls have come back together closely enough to present a comparatively easy scoring opportunity for the next shot.
GULLY TABLE - a table with pockets and a return system that delivers the balls as they are pocketed to a collection bin on the foot end of the table.

HEAD OF TABLE - the end of a carom or pocket billiard table from which the opening break is performed; the end normally marked with the manufacturer's nameplate.
HEAD SPOT - the point on the head of the table where imaginary lines drawn between the center diamonds of the short rails and the second diamonds of the long rails intersect.
HEAD STRING - a line on the head end of the table between the second diamonds of the long rails, passing through the head spot.

INNING - a turn at the table by a player, and which may last for several racks in some pocket games.
IN THE KITCHEN - BALL IN HAND within the "home".
INVALID SHOT - the wrong shot.

JAW - the slanted part of the cushion that is cut at an angle to form the opening from the bed of the table into the pocket.
JOINT - on two-piece cues, the screw-and-thread device, approximately midway in the cue, that permits it to be broken down into two separate sections.
JUMP SHOT - a shot in which the cue ball or object ball is caused to rise off the bed of the table.

KICK SHOT - a shot in which the cue ball banks off a cushion(s) prior to making contact with an object ball or scoring.
KITCHEN - a slang term used to describe the area of the table between the head string and the cushion on the head end of the table. (Also called the area above the head string)
KISS - contact between balls. (See kiss shot)
KISS SHOT - a shot in which more than one contact with object balls is made by the cue ball; for example, the cue ball might kiss from one object ball into another to score the latter ball. Shots in which object balls carom off one or more other object balls to be pocketed. (Also called carom shots)

LAG - a shot in which the cue ball is shot three or more cushions before contacting the object balls.
LEAVE - the position of the balls after a player's shot.
LOT - procedures used, not involving billiard skills, to determine starting player or order of play. Common methods used are flipping coins, drawing straws, drawing cards, or drawing peas or pills.

MASSE SHOT - a shot in which extreme english is applied to the cue ball by elevating the cue butt at an angle with the bed of the table of anywhere between 30 and 90 degrees. The cue ball usually takes a curved path, with more curve resulting from increasing cue stick elevation.
MECHANICAL BRIDGE - a grooved device mounted on a handle providing support for the shaft of the cue during shots difficult to reach with normal bridge hand. Also called a crutch or rake.
MISCUE - a stroke which results in the cue tip contact with cue ball being faulty. Usually the cue tip slides off the cue ball without full transmission of the desired stroke. The stroke usually results i a sharp sound and discoloration of the tip and/or the cue ball at the point of contact.

NATURAL ROLL - movement of the cue ball with english applied.

OBJECT BALLS - the balls other than the cue ball on a shot..
ON A STRING - It describes the ideal play; Joe’s shape is awesome today, he’s got that cue ball on a string.
ON THE SNAP - win the right to a first strike.

POSITION - the placement of the cue ball on each shot relative to the next planned shot. Also called shape.
POT - the pocketing of an object ball.
PUSH SHOT - a shot in which the cue tip maintains contact with the cue ball beyond the split second allowed for a normal and legally stroked shot.

RACE - pre-determined number of games necessary to win a match or set of games. For example, a match that is the best 11 out of 21 games is called a race to 11, and ends when one player has won 11 games.
RAILS - the top surface of the table, not covered by cloth, from which the cushions protrude toward the playing surface. The head and foot rails are the short rails on those ends of the table; the right and left rails are the long rails, dictated by standing at the head end of the table and facing the foot end.
RAIN TABLE - table terrible quality.
REVERSE ENGLISH - sidespin applied to the cue ball, that favors the opposite direction of the natural cue ball path - i.e. inside english.
RUN - the total of consecutive scores, points or counts made by a player in one inning. The term is also used to indicate the total number of full short-rack games won without a missed shot in a match or tournament.
RUNNING ENGLISH - sidespin applied to the cue ball which causes it to rebound from an object ball or a cushion at a narrower angle and at a faster speed than it would if struck at the same speed and direction without english.

SAFETY - defensive positioning of the balls so as to minimize the opponent's chances to score. (The nature and rules concerning safety play are decidedly different in specific games.) Player's inning ends after a safety play.
SCRATCH - the cue ball is going into a pocket on a stroke.
SCREW - DRAW, BACK SPIN, BOTTOM SPIN, BOTTOMS.
SHAFT - the thinner part of a cue, on which the cue tip is attached. On a two-piece cue, the shaft extends from the cue tip to the joint.
SNOOKERED - the condition of incoming player's cue ball position when he cannot shoot in a straight line and contact all portions of an on ball directly facing the cue ball (because of balls not "on" that block the path.
SPLIT HIT - a shot in which it cannot be determined which object ball(s) the cue ball contacted first, due to the close proximity of the object balls.
SPOTTING BALLS - replacing balls to the table in positions as dictated by specific game rules.
STANCE - the position of the body during shooting.
STOP SHOT - a shot in which the cue ball stops immediately upon striking the object ball.
STROKE - the movement of the cue as a shot is executed.
SUCCESSIVE FOULS - fouls made on consecutive strokes by the same player, also called consecutive fouls.

TRIANGLE - the triangular device used to place the balls in position for the start of most games.