Billiards Vault

Letter k Vocabulary

Key ball
The object ball involved in a key shot.
Kick shot
A shot in which the cue ball is driven to one or more rails (cushions in British English) before reaching its intended target-usually an object ball. Sometimes also known as "Kick Out" or "Skid" (British)
Kill shot
Also dead ball shot. A shot intended to slow down or "kill" the cue ball's speed as much as possible after contact with an object ball; usually a shot with draw, often combined with inside english. It is often shortened to kill.
Kiss
An instance of contact between balls, usually used in the context of describing an object ball contacting another object ball (e.g. "the two ball kissed off the twelve ball"), or in snooker the cue ball making contact with a ball after the initial contact with the object ball. If the player's intention was to cause two object balls to kiss (e.g. to pocket a shot ball after a ricochet off a stationary one), it is often called a kiss shot.
Kiss out
This is when a mistake is made in the shot and the resulting contact between balls forces you to miss the shot.
Kiss shot
This is a shot involving contact between the cue ball and an object ball which allows the cue ball to contact another object in order to sink a pocket with the second object ball.
Kiss-back bank
This is a shot where the cue ball double kisses in order to direct the object ball toward the pocket.
Kitchen
The area on the table behind the head string.
The origin of the term has been the subject of some speculation but the best explanation known is that in the 1800s, many homes did not have room for both a billiard table and a dining room table. The solution was a billiards table that had a cover converting it into a dining table. Kept in the dining room, play on such a table was often restricted by the size of the room, so it would be placed so that the head rail would face the connected kitchen door, thus affording a player room for the backswing without hitting a wall. A player was therefore either half or sometimes fully (literally) "in the kitchen" when breaking the balls.
Knuckle
One of two sharp, jutting curves of the cushions either side of a pocket at the points where cushion and pocket meet, forming the jaws of the pockets. Also known as a point, a tittie or a horn.

16 Random Essential Billiards Terms

Two visits
See two-shot carry.
Stance
A shooter's body position and posture during a shot.
Have the nuts
Be in a game where either because of disparity in skill level, or because of a handicap given, it would be very difficult to lose.
One-stroke
To shoot without taking enough warm-up strokes to properly aim and feel out the stroke and speed to be applied. One-stroking is a common symptom of nervousness and a source of missed shots and failed position.
Pantsed
Australian: Defeated with all seven of one's object balls (in blackball or eight-ball) remaining on the table.
Whitey
Slang term for the cue ball.
Tournament card
Jargon for a tournament chart, showing which players are playing against whom and what the results are. Often shortened to card.
English Billiards
This is a game played with the same balls and similar scoring methods of carom, but with pockets on the table, and more scoring opportunities awarded when certain balls are sunk in combination.
Money added
Also money-added. Said of a tournament in which the pot of money to pay out to the winner(s) contains sponsor monies in addition to competitor entry fees. Often used as an adjective: "a money-added event".
Sink
When you have completed a shot by pocketing a ball into a pocket.
Combination shot
This is when you aim at one particular object ball that is not meant to go in the pocket, but is instead meant to contact another object ball which will continue the combination process or be pocketed.
Side pocket
One of the two pockets one either side of a pool table halfway up the long rails. They are cut shallower than corner pockets because they have a 180 degree aperture, instead of 90 degrees. In the UK the term centre pocket or middle pocket are preferred.
Uni-Loc
A joint type in which the butt and shaft screw together in a tight lock, resulting in a better shot with more hitting power.
Wipe its feet
British term referring to the base or metaphorical "feet" of a ball that rattles in the jaws of a pocket before eventually dropping. Usually said of an object ball for which the intention was to pot it.
Spot ball
This is the white ball in carom games which is separated from the clear ball by a marking (usually a dot or spot).
Burnish
To seal the pores of a wooden cue's shaft or to smooth out minor dents in the shaft by rubbing vigorously with some material.
To similarly vigorously rub the edge of a cue tip (especially a new one) to fortify it against mushrooming and ensure that it is perfectly flush with the ferrule.