Bowling Slang Dictionary, H-Z
More Common Words and Phrases Used in the Sport of Bowling
Aug 31, 2009
Interested in learning some more bowling lingo? Here are more of the most common bowling terms that are in popular use today.
Handicap: As in other sports (think golf), there is handicap. These are the pins fronted to someone who has a lower bowling average.
Head Pin: Some people think this is the kingpin, but the first pin, the one at the head of the others when all ten are lined up on the lane, is actually the head pin.
Hook: Inexperienced bowlers might call this the spin. But technically it’s the rotation or hook and is when the bowling ball travels down the lane and follows a path that curves into the pocket.
Kingpin: Yes, it is a movie. But the term actually refers to the five pin because it’s at the heart or center of all the other pins and must be hit in order to get a strike.
Leadoff: Opposite of anchor, the leadoff bowler goes first and is usually the most consistent bowler on the team, the one they can depend on to mark. For those who know something about baseball, it’s the same as the leadoff batter.
Open: When bowlers don’t get a mark, they leave at least one pin standing after rolling two balls, it’s called an open.
Mark: The only two marks are strikes and spares; otherwise it’s an open frame.
Mix: This is what pins do when the ball hits them -- they bounce all around. Sometimes bowlers will remark, “Good mix,” to indicate that because of the way some falling pins bounce they are hitting other pins and knocking them over, often resulting in a better count.
Pocket: This is where every good bowler wants to place the bowling ball. For right-handers the pocket is between the first and third pin, for lefties it is between the first and second pin.
Sandbagger: This is intended as an insult to describe a bowler who intentionally bowls poorly to lower his average and increase his handicap. Then when the time is right (say, a bowling tournament) he or she will bowl well, score high and with the aid of their handicap out-bowl competitors.
Scratch: This is not a verb. To bowl scratch means to bowl without benefit of handicap. It’s how pro bowlers do it.
Six Pack: Yes, it is what a lot of bowlers drink while they bowl. However, in this case it means six strikes in a row.
Spare: No, it’s not the tire bowlers get around their middle from drinking all that beer. It’s what happens when a bowler picks up all ten pins with two rolls of their bowling ball (as opposed to doing it with just one and getting a strike).
Split: Something bowlers don’t want to see. A split occurs when the first ball takes out a group of pins including the head pin and the pins that remain are so far apart that it is difficult to pick them all up with the second roll. The 7-10 split is the granddaddy of them all.
Spot Bowling: Bowling by aiming at one of the spots on the lane instead of at the pins themselves. This is how most accomplished bowlers roll their ball.
Strike: Knocking down all ten pins on the first ball rolled.
Sweep: The arm that comes down after rolling a ball and ‘sweeps’ the deck to make sure there are no pins remaining before resetting the pins.
Tapped: When a bowler is tapped it means they rolled a good ball, one that looks to be a strike, but one stubborn pin (usually the corners – the seven or ten pin) refused to fall.
Turkey: Three strikes in a row.
USBC: United States Bowling Congress is the sanctioning body for all amateur bowlers. At one time there were two separate organizations. For men there was the ABC or American Bowling Congress and for women it was the WIBC or Women’s International Bowling Congress.
Wood: Slang for pins. When the pins mix well and a lot or all of them fall down, someone might remark, “He got a lot of wood.”
 |
