Descriptionary

power player a player who relies more on powerful deliveries to knock down pins than on finesse.

pumpkin a weakly thrown ball with little or no hooking action.

rack a setup of 10 pins.

railroad a split.

read the lane to roll practice balls in order to deter­mine a lane's quirks or imperfections.

ringing 8 the 8 pin left standing alone.

rob the cradle to knock down only one pin in a baby split.

roundhouse a wide curving trajectory.

running lane a lane in which hooks can easily be made into the pocket. Also known as a slow lane.

scratch a player's score without any handicap added in. Also, a nonhandicap game.

setup a rack.

short pin a pin that is knocked down but that fails to knock down any of its neighbors.

skittles a British bowling game in which a wooden ball or disk is used to knock down nine pins.

sleeper any pin hidden behind another pin; a bar­maid.

slow lane see running lane. sour apple the 5-7 split.

spare 10 pins knocked down with two balls in a single frame.

split any combination of pins left standing with a gap or gaps between them.

spread eagle a split leaving the 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10 pins.

strike 10 pins knocked down on the first ball rolled. To make a strike is known as to carry a rack.

strike out to roll three strikes in a row in the last frame of a game.

strike pocket pocket.

string one game; 10 frames.

sweep bar the bar apparatus that collects fallen pins from the deck.

sweeper see mixer.

tenpins the modern game of bowling, characterized by its large balls with drilled holes and its wide-bot­tomed pins, as distinguished from candlepins.

300 game a game with 12 consecutive strikes for a score of 300.

wood the pins.

Woolworth a split leaving the 5-10.

worcester a split leaving everything but the 1 and 5.

boxing

apron the perimeter of the ring floor extending out­side the ropes.

arm puncher a boxer who does not put the weight of his body behind his punches.

babyweight the weight division below lightweight. bagged fight a fixed fight.

bantamweight the weight division with a 118- pound limit.

below the belt received below the belt; it is an ille­gal punch that results in loss of points.

bob and weave to move the head and upper body up and down and back and forth to elude punches.

bolo punch an exaggerated form of the uppercut, having a swing that begins below the hop.

bout a match.

breadbasket slang for the abdomen.

break to pull away from a clinch.

butt to butt the opponent with the top of the head; a foul if intentional.

canvas the floor of the ring.

cauliflower ear a swollen, deformed ear resembling cauliflower, caused by repeated blows.

clinch to hold or embrace the opponent either from exhaustion or to avoid being hit.

cold cock to knock someone out with one punch.

combination a quick succession of varied punches.

cornerman the assistant or trainer who comes into the ring at the end of a round to advise his fighter. See cut man.

crazy bag a small, leather punching bag strung with elastic cords from floor to ceiling, used to develop timing. Also known as double-end bag.

cross a punch thrown across the opponent's punch.

cruiserweight weight division with a 190-pound limit; found in the WBC only

cut man a cornerman responsible for stopping the flow of blood from a fighter's cuts.

dance to use footwork to elude an opponent.

decision a win awarded on the basis of points, as distinguished from a knockout.

double up to throw two punches in quick succession. draw a bout that ends in a tie.

drop one's guard to momentarily drop one's guard hand, leaving the jaw open and vulnerable to a punch.

featherweight weight division with a 126-pound limit.

feint to fake a move in order to deceive the opponent. fistic concerning boxing.

flyweight weight division with a 112-pound limit.

footwork moving the feet to elude an opponent's punches.

foul an illegal punch, for example, one behind the head or below the belt.

glass jaw a boxer who is easily knocked unconscious.

go the distance to complete all rounds of a bout without being knocked out.

gouge to stick one's thumb into the eye of the opponent.

granite chin a boxer who is not easily knocked out. guard the hand that guards the facial area. handler trainer. haymaker a powerful punch.

heavy bag a large, heavy punching bag suspended from the ceiling and used to develop strength.

heavyweight the weight division over 175 pounds.

heel to strike an opponent with the heel of the hand, a foul.

hook a circular punch thrown from the side. jab a quick, straight punch.