GLOSSARY of CURLING TERMS

Biter - A stone barely touching the 12' ring.

Broom - The stick and brush used to sweep the ice and to balance the thrower. Most curling brooms no longer look like real brooms.

Burned Rock - A moving stone touched by the broom of a sweeper.

Bury a stone - Curl in behind a guard.

Button - At the center of the bull's-eye.

Chip - Striking, by means of a fast shot, the edge of a stone that is partially guarded.

Closing a port - Blocking an opening between two (2) stones.

Coming home - Playing the last regulation end.

Counter - Any stone in the rings closer to the center than an opposing stone.

Curl - A left or right twist given the handle of the rock on the release, makes the rock curl in the direction of the twist as it goes down the ice or the arc of the rock as it travels down the ice.

Delivery - of the stone is mostly a matter of alignment, timing and balance.

Double - Removal of two (2) opposing stones with one shot.

Draw - To play a stone gently to a particular spot.

End - The curling equivalent of an inning in baseball. A game is eight ends (10 in championship play). Trips up and down the ice for both teams. In every end, each player from both teams throws (slides) two granite rocks down the ice toward a round circular target "house."

Freeze - Two (2) stationary stones touching each other usually one is in front of the other.

Guard - Any stone in front of another protecting it from removal by an opposing stone.

Hack - The toe-hold or foot support used by the player in delivering the stone.

Hammer - Last (16th) rock of an end.

Heavy ice - Ice that due to water, frost, or too much pebble requires weight to reach the rings.

Hit and lie - To strike an opponent's stone so that it is driven out of the house while one's own stone remains.

Hit and roll - To strike an opponent's stone so that it is driven out of the house while one's own stone rolls to the outer edge of the house.

Hog line - Stone must be released before you reach this position on the rink.

House - or target. Painted 12-foot circle at the other end of the ice of blue, white, and red.

In turn - Curl of the wrist clockwise as the stone is released.

Keen ice - Ice that is "fast," requiring less momentum in the throws.

Object of the game - Slide their polished 42 pound granite stones over a narrow, 146-foot lane of pebbled ice at a red, white and blue bull's eye painted beneath the ice surface. Each match consists of two teams of four playing eight ends, or innings, in which a total of 16 stones are thrown per end. Sitting stones can be knocked out of position; more accomplished players aim for angles and ricochets off other stones, as in billiards. The team with the stone or stones closer to the button than the opposition wins the end and scores the point or points. To get as many stones as possible in the centre target (the 'house'), knocking any opposition stones out of the way if necessary. The objective is to get a rock closer to the center than any rock from the other team, or to block or knock the other team's rocks away from the center. If they have the two closest rocks, two points, and so on. The other team gets no points for that end. Players sweep with brooms to form a thin layer of ice that allows the stone to move faster and farther. One person handles the stone, two sweep the ice in front of it to increase its speed and one acts as a "skip," guiding the other three. The catch is that the opposing team goes next, trying to land their stones in the circle while knocking the others out.

On the broom - A stone delivered accurately on the line with the skip's broom.

Out Turn - Curl of the wrist counter-clockwise as the stone is released.

Pebble - A tiny spray of water bubbles that allow the stone to travel freely across the ice.

Pinching the broom - Throwing the rock narrow of the skip's broom.

Pocket - Stones lying in a semi-circular position concentric with the rings and usually behind the tee-line.

Port - An opening between two (2) stones large enough for another stone to go through.

Raise - Striking another stone squarely to promote it to a position nearer the tee, that is, the center of the circle. This shot is sometimes referred to as a promotion.

Read the ice - To determine how best to put the stone in the target.

Rink - The curling word for "team." A rink has four players: the lead (first shooter), second, third and skip. All four shoot and sweep in turn. The skip (captain) determines rink strategy.

Rock - The smooth 42 pound granite stones with handle attached that are thrown down the ice.

Rub - A tricky spot on the ice where the stones back up or change.

Short - A rock that stops short of its desired position.

Slider - Right-handed curlers need to wear a shoe on their left foot with a sole that slides on the ice, while wearing a shoe on the other foot with a sole that grips it. A Teflon piece strapped to the bottom of a shoe for use when shooting the stone.

Spirit of the game - Demands good sportsmanship, kindly feeling and honorable conduct.''

Sweeper - On each side holding a broom that more closely resembles a sponge mop. It is the sweepers' job to stay in front of the stone and keep the ice surface smooth.

Sweeping - Causes ice in front of a sliding stone with brooms, which makes the rock travel faster and straighter up to 6-feet further than they would normally travel. "Sweeping creates a tiny film of water making the rock move a little faster and go a little farther and if the rock is curling, sweeping will make it run a little straighter."

Swingy ice - Playing ice on which the curve followed by a moving stone is much greater than normal.

Take-out - Removal of an opposing stone from play by hitting it with one of your own.

Tee-line - The horizontal line bisecting the rings.

Weight - The amount of momentum given to a delivery stone.

Wide - Stone delivered outside of the imaginary line to the skip's broom.