This glossary relates mainly to terms applicable to tenpin bowling. For candlepin terms, see Candlepin bowling#Terminology.
Numerical
180 (180 stop): A pinsetter malfunction in which the sweep bar is stuck at the back of the lane, halfway (180 out of 360 degrees) through a pinsetter cycle. 270 (270 stop): A pinsetter malfunction in which the pin sweep is stuck at the front of the pin deck (three-quarters or 270 degrees through a 360 cycle) and the setter is unable to lower the next set of pins. In some bowling establishments depending on the machine used and its frequency, this malfunction may be incorrectly referred to as 180. _#_-Bagger: A string of _#_ strikes in consecutive frames within the same game (example: "six-bagger").
Symbols X: Symbol for strike. / (slash): Symbol for spare. — (dash): Symbol for a zero-count ball. Also can denote an open frame when only the frame's overall result is shown on a scoresheet. ➇ (circled number): denotes a split leave. The first-ball pinfall is usually encircled. If a scoresheet is only showing frames' overall results, an open frame via split can be shown with a(n unfilled) circle, optionally with a dash in it, and a split converted for a spare can be shown as a circle with a slash through it. F (letter): denotes a foul by the bowler.
A
ABC: American Bowling Congress, the first enduring standards and rules governing organization for ten-pin bowling in the United States, formed in September 1895 Accessed via Newspapers.com. Accessed via the U.S. Library of Congress online. Accessed via the U.S. Library of Congress online. and merged in 2005 with other organizations to form the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). Abralon (pad): An abrasion technology product used to "sand" ball coverstocks with different grits (degrees of roughness) to control the amount of friction between the coverstock and lane. Absentee (score): See blind. Action bowling: Bowling contests involving money betting, historically associated with the New York underworld from the 1940s to the 1970s. Adjust(ment): A change in technique—especially in alignment, but also in approach, delivery, targeting or ball choice—often made in response to changing lane conditions or to correct undesirable ball motion. Aggressive: See Strong. Align(ment): A choice of location of the feet during setup, location of the sliding foot at time of release, and choice of target (arrow), which collectively determine initial ball trajectory. Alignment is usually expressed in terms of board number and arrow number, for example, "standing at (board) 25, sliding at 20, looking at the second arrow". Anchor: In league play, the person bowling last on a team: usually the bowler with the highest average or the best performer under pressure. Andy Varipapa 300: 12 consecutive strikes bowled across two games. Angle: See Angle of entry or Delivery angle. Angle of entry: The angle at which the ball is moving when first impacting a pin (especially the pocket), measured with respect to a line parallel to the lane's boards. A ball that hooks has a larger angle of entry than a ball rolled in a straight line. Entry angles of 4° to 6° are thought to deliver optimum pin carry. Distinguish: delivery angle. Approach: The part of the delivery that precedes the release. Approach also denotes the physical area in front of the foul line, from which bowlers deliver the ball. (The) Arrows: Seven regularly-spaced arrowhead-shaped guides located about 15 feet past the foul line, used by many bowlers as targets for rolling the ball. The target (aiming point) is called a bowler's "mark". Arsenal: The set of bowling balls available for a bowler's use. Often, the term specifically refers to the limited quantity of balls permitted under rules of a particular competition. Balls in an arsenal are usually chosen to be mutually distinct in coverstock, core characteristics, and pin configuration, to achieve desired ball paths under different lane conditions. Asymmetric: Adjective describing a ball that is not symmetric, and therefore tending to have greater flare potential through a more aggressive reaction on the back end of the lane. Formally, asymmetric balls have RG (radius of gyration) values along the Y (high RG) and Z (intermediate RG) axes that differ by more than 5% of total differential. Adjective is also applied to the ball's core. Average: The total of scores from multiple games divided by the number of games, truncated down to an integer (whole-number) value. Axis rotation: Angle of the ball's axis of rotation in a horizontal plane, measured with respect to a line parallel to the foul line. Generally, axis rotation is imparted by turning the ball, and significantly contributes to hook. Initial axis rotation is defined at the time of release. Axis rotation is also referred to as side rotation or side roll. Distinguish: axis tilt. Axis tilt: Angle of the ball's axis of rotation in a vertical plane, measured with respect to the horizontal. Initial axis tilt is defined at the time of release. Distinguish: axis rotation.
B
Baby Split: A split that can be converted by hitting both pins with the ball. Examples: 3—10, 2—7, 4—5. Back _#_: A number, _#_, of consecutive strikes ending with the final roll of a game. For example, a player rolling strikes in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames plus three more in the tenth frame is said to have the "back six". Compare: front #_. Back-up ball: A ball rolled with a right-handed release that hooks left to right, or rolled with a left-handed release that hooks right to left—opposite to the hook directions of conventional releases. Back end: The (approx.) one-third of the lane furthest from the foul line, which generally lacks oil.
Backswing: The portion of a delivery following the push-off (push away) and preceding the forward swing and release. _#_-Bagger: A string of _#_ strikes in consecutive frames within the same game (example: "six-bagger"). Baker format: A team game scoring format in which a team's members bowl frames in a repetitive order to complete a single game (example: bowler A bowls frames 1 and 6, bowler B bowls frames 2 and 7, and so forth). Named after 1950s American Bowling Congress officer Frank K. Baker. Balance hole: A hole drilled into a bowling ball into which a finger is not inserted. The hole, originally meant to correct static imbalance, has also been used to change the ball's intended dynamics and was banned in competition by USBC effective August 1, 2020. Also called a weight hole. Balance leg: The leg opposite the leg on which a bowler slides in the final slide step, so named because the moving balance leg provides a counter-balance to the motion of the ball immediately before and during release, thus helping to stabilize the bowler's body position. Ball down: To switch to a ball that hooks further downlane. Opposite of ball up. See related discussion at Strong. Ball reaction: Change in direction of ball motion due to frictional contact with the lane surface, the term often applied to describe the amount of hook. Often shortened to reaction.
Ball speed: Rate at which a ball as a whole moves down the lane (usually expressed in miles per hour, MPH). Distinguish: rev rate, which describes a ball's rotational velocity (expressed in revolutions per minute, RPM). Ball up: To switch to a ball that hooks sooner. Opposite of ball down. See related discussion at Strong. Bananas: a pinsetter malfunction in which the pinsetter has an incomplete load and is stuck at full lift. Beer frame: A frame in which the only bowler not to roll a strike, or the one who achieves the lowest score, has to buy beer for the rest of their team. Behind the ball: A position of the hand on the ball, furthest or nearly furthest from the pins and away from the side, generally thought to impart a modest but controllable amount of side rotation to modern reactive resin bowling balls. Designed to avoid a chicken wing delivery. Benchmark ball: A ball whose coverstock, core, and layout most reliably match a bowler's style under expected lane conditions—often chosen from an arsenal as a default (first-to-use) ball. Benchmark balls often have symmetrical cores, lower RGs, and medium to strong differentials, and may have solid reactive coverstocks for predictable motion and strong downlane continuation. Benchmark reaction: A ball reaction involving a medium hook and a medium amount of angularity at the breakpoint, chosen to be readily manipulated to adjust speed, axis rotation, and loft. BFO (beer frame opportunity): A situation in which no more than one member of a team has failed to get a strike in a particular frame before the last member bowls, creating the possibility for a beer frame if it ends with only one missed strike. Big Four: A split where only the 4, 6, 7 and 10 pins are standing.
Bird dog: See messenger. Blended condition versus Blocked condition (or Blocked lane): Especially in typical house shot (THS) oil patterns, the oil pattern has high oil volume on the middle boards to allow a shot missed to the inside to slide toward the pocket and not cross over, and has low oil volume on the outer boards to cause a shot missed to the outside to hook back toward the pocket. The differing oil concentrations are conceived to increase the margin of error for a strike. Blended conditions occur when the contrast from the oily center to the dry sides is small—smaller than blocked conditions. With blended conditions, there is less danger of skidding too far in the oil or hooking too strongly on the outside, reducing chances of encountering the undesirable over/under phenomenon. Blind (score): In league play, a score given to a team member who is absent for a particular session, with the score usually being the player's current average less a certain number of pins. Also called "absentee score" or "dummy score". Distinguish: vacancy. Blocked: Refer to Blended. Blow-out-five (BOF):[Questionable] On a full rack, the ball hits light in the pocket, but still hits the 5-pin and makes it fly into the 7-pin (or 10-pin for left-handed releases) to strike. Broadcaster Nelson Burton Jr. used this term. If the result of a pocket hit like this leaves a corner pin, the resulting leave is a "Swishing 7 (or 10)". Swishing 7-10 splits can even happen. Bo Derek: Used by Rob Stone, ten consecutive strikes in the same game, referring to the actress' best-known film. Board: A longitudinally placed wooden board or synthetic substitute, 39 of which constitute the 41.5-inch width of a lane. Boards are considered to be numbered 1 through 39, increasing from right to left for right-handed releases. Boards 5, 10, 15... 35 have marker arrows. Bracket(s): A contest format in which bowlers are divided into groups (the "brackets"), and each bowler is paired against another bowler in the group in the first round of what is usually a single-elimination tournament. Bracket competition is often conducted in parallel with regular tournament or league competition. More generally, the term bracket denotes a tree diagram representing how contestants are paired against each other. Breakdown: Process by which repeated ball traversals along a path incrementally remove oil from the path so it presents increased friction to subsequently-rolled balls, thus reducing their length. See also: burn. Breakdown is one aspect of lane transition. Distinguish: carry-down. Breakpoint: A term with varying definitions: the point at which the ball is at its most outside position (closest to the gutter); the point of maximum change in direction; the point at which the ball transitions from skid to traction and begins the roll phase; or the point 5-7 feet beyond the end of the oil pattern at which the ball begins to change direction ("break"). Distinguish: length. Bridge: The distance between the finger holes. Distinguish: span.