billiards

billiards
billiardist, n.
/bil"yeuhrdz/, n. (used with a sing. v.)
any of several games played with hard balls of ivory or of a similar material that are driven with a cue on a cloth-covered table enclosed by a raised rim of rubber, esp. a game played with a cue ball and two object balls on a table without pockets. Cf. pool2 (def. 8).
[1585-95; pl. of BILLIARD]

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Any of various games played on a cloth-topped, cushion-railed rectangular table by driving small, hard balls against one another or into pockets with a long stick called a cue.

Carom, or French billiards, is played with three balls, two white and one red, on a table without pockets. The object is to stroke the white cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom (one point). English billiards is also played with three balls but on a pocketed table; it is scored in various ways. Snooker is another popular British billiards game. The principal billiards game in North America is pocket billiards, or pool. The Billiard Congress of America controls U.S. tournament play, including the U.S. Open Pockets Billiard Championship, regarded as the world championship.

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▪ game group
Introduction

      any of various games played on a rectangular table with a designated number of small balls and a long stick called a cue. The table and the cushioned rail bordering the table are topped with a feltlike tight-fitting cloth. Carom, or French, billiards is played with three balls on a table that has no pockets. The other principal games are played on tables that have six pockets, one at each corner and one in each of the long sides; these games include English billiards, played with three balls; snooker, played with 21 balls and a cue ball; and pocket billiards, or pool, played with 15 balls and a cue ball. There are numerous varieties of each game—particularly of carom and pocket billiards.

      Many countries—among them France, England, China, Italy, and Spain—have been credited with the invention of the game, but, in fact, nothing is really known about the origin of billiards. It may be inferred that it developed from a variety of games in which propelling a ball was a main feature. The earliest references to the game in Europe occur in the 15th century.

      All billiards games require the basic equipment of a table, cue sticks, and balls. The traditional mahogany billiards table is still in use, but tables are now generally made of other woods and synthetic materials. The large rectangular table typically is twice as long as it is wide. It has a bed usually of polished slate covered by a woven woolen cloth, sometimes referred to as felt. Angled rails of hardened rubber or synthetic rubber, known as cushions, rim the inner edge of the table. The cue is a tapered rod of polished wood or synthetic material, ranging in length from about 40 to 60 inches (100 to 150 cm). The small end of the cue, with which the ball is struck, is fitted with a plastic, fibre, or ivory reinforcement to which is cemented a leather cue tip. chalk in small cubes is applied uniformly to the cue tip permitting the players to strike the cue ball off centre on purpose in order to impart a spinning motion, called “side” in Great Britain and “English” in the United States. The billiard balls, formerly made of ivory or Belgian clay, are now usually plastic; they each measure from about 21/4 to 23/8 inches (5.7 to 6 cm) in diameter, the larger balls being used in carom billiards.

      Different forms of the game tend to be played in certain groups of countries or areas of the world, though many of the games cross many national boundaries. The game of carom billiards is still played primarily in France and other European countries and to a lesser degree in the United States and has many players in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea and in Central America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. The game of English billiards is most popular in Britain and the former empire countries. The game of pocket billiards, or pool, which uses six large pocket openings, is primarily the game played on the American continents and, in recent years, has been played in Japan. The game of snooker is primarily British and is played to a small degree in the Americas.

Carom, or French, billiards (carom billiards)
 Carom billiards is played on a table usually 5 by 10 feet (1.5 by 3 m) or 4.5 by 9 feet (1.4 by 2.7 m). It has no pockets. The game is played with three balls, two white and one red, with one of the white balls having a small red dot, or spot, to distinguish it. One of the white balls (plain or spot) serves as the cue ball for each player, the red ball and other white ball serving as his object balls. In play, the object is to stroke the cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom, or billiard, which counts one point. In a variety of the game called three-cushion billiards, the cue ball must also touch a cushion or cushions three or more times to complete a carom. Scoring a carom also entitles the player to another shot, and his turn, or inning, continues until he misses, when it becomes his opponent's turn.

 The game of English billiards is played on a relatively large table, usually 6 feet 1.5 inches by 12 feet (1.9 by 3.7 m); it is played with three balls as in carom—a plain white, a white with a spot, and a red. There are three ways of scoring: (1) the losing hazard, or loser, is a stroke in which the striker's cue ball is pocketed after contact with another ball; (2) the winning hazard, or pot, is a stroke in which a ball other than the striker's cue ball is pocketed after contact with another ball; (3) the cannon, or carom, is a scoring sequence in which the striker's cue ball contacts the two other balls successively or simultaneously. The skill involved consists of developing one scoring stroke after another. A player continues at the table for as long as he succeeds in scoring.

 Snooker is played on the same table and with the same size balls used for English billiards. The game is played with 22 balls, made up of one white ball (the cue ball), 15 red balls, and six numbered coloured balls including one yellow 2, one green 3, one brown 4, one blue 5, one pink 6, and one black (valued at 7 points). The player must first pocket a red ball and then try to pocket any colour he may choose, scoring the value of the ball that he has pocketed. He then alternately pockets red and coloured balls. Each red ball when pocketed remains in the pocket, while the colours when pocketed, as long as any reds remain on the table, are placed on their respective spots. Play continues until only the six colours remain on the table. Finally, the six coloured balls must be pocketed in the order of their values. When the last ball is pocketed, the game is ended. During play, when a player cannot hit the ball that the rules require him to hit (because of obstruction by another ball or balls), he is said to be snookered and loses his turn; this situation gives the game its name.

 Pocket billiards is usually played on a table 4.5 by 9 feet (1.4 by 2.7 m), although in special championships the table is sometimes 5 by 10 feet (1.5 by 3 m), and in some areas of North and South America the tables are as small as 4 by 8 feet (1.2 by 2.4 m). Pockets on the pocket billiards table are wider than those on the English billiards and snooker tables. In pocket billiards, 15 numbered object balls are used in addition to one white ball; the object balls numbered from 1 to 8 are in solid colours, those from 9 to 15 in stripes. At the beginning of play the 15 object balls are racked at one end of the table in a triangular pattern, using a triangular wooden or plastic “rack.” The first shooter breaks the formation with the cue ball; he then tries to sink the object balls in some designated order or manner. Not making a shot successfully allows another player to shoot. So does sinking the cue ball, which is known as “scratching.” Many varieties of pocket billiards, or pool, are possible, the most popular probably being that known as rotation, or “Chicago,” in which the object is to pocket the balls in numerical order, starting with the lowest number. The numbers of the balls are added up to determine the winner of the game. In so-called straight pool (also called 14.1 continuous pool, or rack pool), each player tries to sink 14 of the object balls in any order or combination. Before each shot, however, the player must call the number of the ball and the designated pocket; if successful, he scores one point.

Governing bodies
      The world governing body of English billiards and of the English form of snooker is the Billiards and Snooker Control Council. Formed in 1919, it represents an amalgamation of the former Billiards Association, established in 1885, and the Billiards Control Club, established in 1908. It frames the conditions and rules of both games and publishes the official organ, Billiards and Snooker.

      The principal governing body of the American pocket billiards games, including the American form of snooker, is the Billiard Congress of America, which has been the ruling body since 1948. It maintains the rules of the games and sanctions championship tournaments including the U.S. Open Pocket Billiards Championship, regarded as the world championship.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Billiards — Bil liards, n. [F. billiard billiards, OF. billart staff, cue form playing, fr. bille log. See {Billet} a stick.] A game played with ivory balls o a cloth covered, rectangular table, bounded by elastic cushions. The player seeks to impel his ball …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • billiards — ► PLURAL NOUN (treated as sing. ) ▪ a game for two people, played on a billiard table with three balls. ORIGIN French billard billiard cue, billiards , from Old French bille tree trunk …   English terms dictionary

  • billiards — [bil′yərdz] n. [Fr billard, the game; orig., a stick, cue < OFr bille: see BILLET2] 1. a game played with three hard balls on a rectangular table covered with cloth, esp. baize, and having raised, cushioned edges: a long, tapering stick… …   English World dictionary

  • billiards — 1590s, from Fr. billiard, originally the word for the wooden cue stick, a diminutive from O.Fr. bille stick of wood, from M.L. billia tree, trunk, possibly from Gaulish (Cf. Ir. bile tree trunk ) …   Etymology dictionary

  • billiards — [[t]bɪ̱liə(r)dz[/t]] (The form billiard is used as a modifier.) 1) N UNCOUNT Billiards is a game played on a large table, in which you use a long stick called a cue to hit balls against each other or into pockets around the sides of the table.… …   English dictionary

  • billiards — n. to play billiards * * * to play billiards …   Combinatory dictionary

  • billiards — n. 1 a game played on an oblong cloth covered table, with three balls struck with cues into pockets round the edge of the table. 2 (billiard) (in comb.) used in billiards (billiard ball; billiard table). Etymology: orig. pl., f. F billard… …   Useful english dictionary

  • billiards — noun plural but singular in construction Etymology: Middle French billard billiard cue, billiards, from bille wooden stick, log more at billet Date: 1580 any of several games played on an oblong table by driving small balls against one another or …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • billiards — bil|liards [ˈbıljədz US ərdz] n [U] [Date: 1500 1600; : French; Origin: billard (stick used in) billiards , from bille piece of wood, stick ] a game played on a cloth covered table in which balls are hit with a ↑cue (=a long stick) against each… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • billiards — n pl See pocket billiards/pool …   Contemporary slang

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