ninepins

ninepins
/nuyn"pinz'/, n.
1. (used with a sing. v.) tenpins played without the head pin.
2. ninepin, a pin used in this game.
[1570-80; NINE + PINS]

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▪ game
      bowling game that probably originated in continental Europe during the Middle Ages. Many regional variations of the game developed. Early German ninepins lanes were made of clay or cinders; later a single long plank about one foot wide was added, on which the ball was rolled. The pins were set up in a square formation with one corner toward the bowler. These features are retained in the modern games asphalt, bohle, and schere, which are recognized for international competition by the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (International Federation of Bowlers). skittles (q.v.), a British variation of ninepins, is also still played. The game of ninepins was brought to America by early Dutch colonists, but it was supplanted there in the mid-19th century by the tenpin game.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • ninepins — ► PLURAL NOUN (usu. treated as sing. ) ▪ the traditional form of the game of skittles, using nine pins. ● go down (or drop or fall) like ninepins Cf. ↑go fall like ninepins …   English terms dictionary

  • Ninepins — Nine pins, n. pl. A game played with nine pins, or pieces of wood, set on end, at which a wooden ball is bowled to knock them down; bowling. [1913 Webster] Note: In the United States, ten pins are used for this game, which is therefore often… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ninepins — (n.) 1570s, from NINE (Cf. nine) + PIN (Cf. pin) (n.). From the number of pins to be knocked down …   Etymology dictionary

  • ninepins — [nīn′pinz΄] n. a British version of the game of tenpins, in which nine wooden pins are used …   English World dictionary

  • ninepins — nine|pins [ˈnaınˌpınz] n [U] 1.) a game in which you roll a ball at nine bottle shaped objects to try to hit them so that they fall 2.) drop/go down like ninepins if people or things drop like ninepins, many of them fall down or become ill or… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • ninepins — [[t]na͟ɪnpɪnz[/t]] PHRASE: PHR after v If you say that people or things are going down like ninepins, you mean that large numbers of them are suddenly becoming ill, collapsing, or doing very badly. [mainly BRIT] There was a time when Liverpool… …   English dictionary

  • ninepins — UK [ˈnaɪnˌpɪnz] / US noun [uncountable] the game of skittles • go down/fall/drop like ninepins used for saying that a lot of people suddenly all become ill or all fail at something A nasty virus was going round the office and people were dropping …   English dictionary

  • ninepins — plural noun [usu. treated as sing.] the traditional form of the game of skittles, using nine pins. Phrases go down (or drop or fall) like ninepins Brit. succumb in large numbers …   English new terms dictionary

  • ninepins — /ˈnaɪnpɪnz/ (say nuynpinz) plural noun 1. (construed as singular) a game played with nine wooden pins at which a ball is bowled to knock them down; skittles. 2. (singular) a pin used in this game; a skittle. –phrase 3. go over like ninepins, (of… …  

  • ninepins — noun The game of skittles …   Wiktionary

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