Advanced Play. A game of croquet where extra rules are invoked. The games are played level, and contacts and lifts can be conceded.
Angled Hoop. Where the ball is well off the midline of a hoop it intends to run.
Aspinall Peel. A promotion peel where the peelee is jawsed in the croquet stroke and then struck by the striker's ball again in the same croquet stroke.
Backward Ball. The player's ball which has made fewest hoops at the start of a turn.
Baulk. The A baulk extends along the yard line originating from the first corner to the midpoint of the South boundary. The B baulk extends along the yard line from the third corner spot to the midpoint of the North boundary. Balls are played on to the lawn from the baulk lines at the start of the game or when a lift is taken.
Bisques. 'Free turns' indicated by wooden sticks given the weaker player in a handicap game.
Boundary. The edges of the lawn. The boundary is defined as the inside edge of the marking lines.
Break. A sequence of shots which allows many hoops to be made in one turn.
Building. The process of moving balls to advantageous positions from which to play a break.
Cannons. Croquet shots involving more than two balls.
Casting. Swinging of the mallet over the striker's ball one or more times before making a final swing in which the mallet hits the ball.
Clips. Clothes-peg-like markers coloured to match the balls, and used to indicate the next hoop a ball has to make next. Clips are placed on the top of a hoop on the first circuit and on the uprights of the hoop for the second circuit.
Condone. A fault or other 'breaking of the rules' is condoned after a set number of strokes known as the 'limit of claims'. When condoned, play carries on as if no error had occurred.
Contact. An option in advanced play arising when the opponent has been through 1-back and 4-back with their forward ball in a single break. A contact involves picking up one of your balls and placing it in contact with any of the other balls and playing a croquet shot.
Corner. The point of intersection of two boundaries.
Corner Spot. The point where the two yard lines meet in the corner.
Croquet Stroke. The stroke following the initial hit-in (the roquet) where the two balls are placed in contact and the striker's ball struck. Past tense croqueted (crow-kay'd).
Cross-pegging. Where two balls are obstructed from hitting each other by placing them either side of the peg.
Cross-wiring. Where two balls are obstructed from hitting each other by placing them either side of a hoop. Crown. The horizontal part (top) of a croquet hoop.
Crush. Either, when the mallet strikes a ball which is in contact with a hoop or peg and the direction of aim is not away from the hoop or peg, or when a ball is hit predominantly downwards into the ground in a stroke.
Cut Rush. A cut rush is a roquet shot in which the roqueted ball moves sideways. A difficult shot to gauge the strength of.
Damage. A major defect in the surface of a croquet court. The result of a shot improperly executed. This is a fault under the Laws of Croquet.
Deep. Meaning further away than normal, at a greater distance.
Delayed Peel. When a peel is attempted at a later point in the break than when it would normally be done.
Diagonal Sweep. A stroke played to roquet a ball when the striker's ball is nearly hoop bound. The mallet is swung across the aiming line but still facing along the aiming line.
Double Bank. To use two sets of four balls on one lawn. The second set of balls is coloured Brown, Green, White and Pink.
Double Peel. A manoeuvre in which a ball is peeled through its final two hoops during a single break and pegged out.
East. The boundary of the lawn spanning hoops three and four.
Escape Ball. A second ball at a hoop where a peel is taking place. Once the peel has been made the escape ball can be roqueted and the break continued.
Face. The striking surface of a mallet excluding its bevelled edges.
Fault. A breech of the Laws of croquet.
Follow Through. The continuation of the swing involved in a stroke after the mallet has made contact with the ball.
Forward Ball. The ball of a side which has made most hoops at the start of a given turn.
Four-Ball Break. A manoeuvre involving four balls which allows multiple hoops to be scored in a single turn. A ball called the pivot remains near the centre of the lawn, a ball known as a pioneer is sent to the next hoop, and the striker's ball and another are used to make the present hoop.
Free Shot. A shot through a ball which carries no immediate disadvantage if the shot is missed.
Handicap. A method of biasing games so that weak and strong players have an equal probability of winning. This is done by giving the weaker player extra turns, indicated by sticks known as bisques.
Hitting In. To strike the striker's ball so that it hits another (remote) ball.
Hoop Position. Being in front of a hoop in a position from which you can run the hoop.
Innings. To have control over the balls. This normally means that you have your balls together and your opponent in a disadvantageous position.
Irish Grip. One of three common methods of holding a croquet mallet for single ball strokes. For a right handed player:- the left hand grips the top of the shaft with the palm in contact with the shaft, the palm facing forward and the thumb downward. The right hand grips the shaft below the left one, the palm against the shaft and facing forward.
Irish Peel. A peel executed during a croquet shot in which both balls pass through the hoop in question. Normally played as a roll shot.
Jaws. The area lying between the uprights of a hoop.
Jawsed. A ball which has been placed partly or wholly between the jaws of a hoop.
Joining-up. To end a turn with both your balls in close proximity.
Jump Shot. A stroke played slightly down on a ball which causes the ball to jump. It imparts forward spin on the ball, but there is little control on the energy given to the ball.
Laws. The official rules of the game prepared by the Croquet Association.
Lay-up. To position your balls at the end of a turn.
Leaves. Configuration of balls at the end of a turn.
Level Play. A game which is not played on handicap. No bisques are involved.
Lift. A lift is a awarded as the result of a wiring (Law 13) or as a consequence of advanced play. The ball concerned can be played from where it lies or played on to the lawn from either baulk line.
North. The boundary of the lawn spanning hoops two and three.
NSL. New standard leave. An arrangement of balls adopted at the end of the first break in an advanced game. It differs from the OSL in that one of the opponents balls is left by hoop 4 rather than the peg.
OSL. Old standard leave. A common arrangement of balls adopted at the end of the first break in an advanced game. One opponent ball is left near hoop two and the other, preferably wired, by the peg.
Pass Roll. A croquet shot in which both balls travel some distance, with the striker's ball travelling proportionally further.
Peel. A manoeuvre in which a ball, other than the one which is struck, is made to run its hoop.
Peelee. The ball which is peeled.
Peeling. To cause a ball other than the one being struck to run its hoop.
Pegging Out. Striking a ball which is for the peg, against the peg.
Penult. Abbreviation for penultimate.
Penultimate. The eleventh hoop.
Pioneer. This is a ball waiting at your next or next-but-one hoop. It acts as a stepping stone to make the hoop approach easy.
Pilot. Another name for a pioneer ball. Often used to indicate a ball at your next hoop, whereas pioneer is used for a ball at your next-but-one hoop. The differentiation is not made in this text.
Pivot. The pivot is the ball near the centre of the lawn in a four-ball break.
Primary Colours. The set of balls coloured Blue, Red, Yellow and Black. Red and Yellow are always paired together as are Black and Blue.
Promote. Causing a ball which was not struck, or in direct contact with the struck ball, to move. For example a croqueted ball can be aimed at a ball in the jaws of a hoop, and that ball be promoted by the collision.
Pull. This describes the motion of balls in a split roll shot. Under some conditions the balls do not travel along their intended lines but curve slightly back together (towards the aiming line). This is caused by side spin developed in the roll shot.
Reception Ball. A reception ball is the ball you roquet immediately after running a hoop. It is usually placed on the far side of a hoop you are about to run. That being the case, you normally turn your pioneer at a hoop into your reception ball when you play the croquet shot to obtain hoop position.
Roll Shot. A croquet stroke in which both balls travel similar distances.
Roquet. When the striker's ball hits a ball from which it is entitled to take croquet. Past tense roqueted (Ro- Kay'd).
Rover. The final, twelfth, hoop to be run, marked with a red crossbar.
Run a Hoop. When a ball passes through a hoop it requires.
Rush. A single ball stroke in which the striker's ball roquets another ball and causes it to move some distance.
Rush Line. This is an imaginary line which passes through a ball to be rushed and the point to where you wish to rush it to. By approaching a ball along its rush line you avoid the necessity of playing difficult cut rushes.
Second Colours. A set of balls coloured Brown, Green, Pink and White to allow two games to be played without confusion on one lawn.
Sextuple. A rare manoeuvre in which one ball is peeled through its last six hoops and pegged out whilst the striker's ball makes a break.
Shepherd. A fault in a croquet stroke, whereby the mallet accelerates or deviates from its initial line once it has make contact with the striker's ball. The striker is said to be shepherding the balls.
Shoot. To strike a ball towards a target.
Single Peel. A manoeuvre in which a ball other than the striker's is peeled through rover and pegged out.
South. The boundary of the lawn spanning hoops one and four.
Spin. The rotation of a ball about a horizontal or vertical axis. The former is used to assist running hoops and trueness of the balls travel, and the latter is a consequence of certain roll shots giving rise to pull.
Split Shot. A croquet stroke in which the balls diverge.
Split Roll. A roll shot in which the balls travel similar distances but with a divergence in their paths.
Stab. To hit a ball with a brisk stroke with no follow through.
Standard Grip. One of three common methods of holding a croquet mallet for single ball strokes. For a right handed player:- the left hand is at the top of the shaft with the thumb at or over the top of the shaft and the knuckles facing forward. The right hand is placed about half way down the shaft, gripping it with the palm against the shaft and facing forward.
Stop Shot. A croquet stroke in which the croqueted ball travels a proportionately large distance compared with the striker's ball.
Take-off. A croquet stroke in which the striker's ball is played off the side of the roqueted ball. The latter hardly moves and the striker's ball travels some distance.
Three-Ball Break. A manoeuvre involving three balls which allows multiple hoops to be scored in a single turn
Time. The call made when the time limit is reached in a timed gamed.
Timed Game. A game played to a predefined time limit. Special rules apply to the use of bisques and the determination of who wins when there is a draw at the end of the timed period.
Top Spin. Spin of the ball about a horizontal axis normal to the direction of travel. The direction of spin is such as to enhance the forward motion of the ball.
Toss. A coin is tossed at the start of the game to determine who has the first choice of the opening options; colour of balls or who goes in.
Triple Peel. Manoeuvre where the forward ball is peeled through its final three hoops as the backward ball makes a break around all the hoops and both balls are pegged out.
Turn. A turn consists initially of one stroke, but extra strokes can be earned by running the correct hoop or by roqueting a ball.
T.P. Abbreviation of triple peel.
T.P.O. Abbreviation of triple peel on opponent's ball.
Upright. The vertical part of a hoop.
Wafer Cannon. A three ball croquet shot in which the roqueted ball lies between the striker's ball and a third ball. These outer balls do not touch but are separated by a very small gap.
West. The boundary of the lawn spanning hoops one and two.
Wire. The vertical part of a hoop, and also describing the process of wiring.
Wired. Being unable to hit a target ball due to the presence of an obstacle - usually the peg or a hoop.
Wiring. Deliberately arranging balls so that they are unable to hit one another due to a hoop or peg obstructing the shot.
Worm Cannon. A simple three ball cannon in which you only get two balls away from the boundary. The centre ball just overlaps the line joining the centres of the outer balls. A light tap leaves a rush.
Yard Line. This is an imaginary line located one yard in from the inside edge of the marked boundary of the court. It does not extend into the corners but the two adjacent yard lines meet at the corner spot.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keith Wylie: Expert Croquet Tactics
Steve Mulliner and John McCullogh: The World of Croquet
John Solomon: Croquet
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