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»Glossary Of Curling Terms
 

4 Foot — The 4 foot diameter red ring in the house.

8 Foot — The 8 foot diameter white ring in the house.

12 Foot — The 12 foot diameter blue ring in the house.

Back Line — The line behind the house. A rock completely crossing the back line is removed from play.

Biter — A rock that barely touches the outside of the house.

Bite Stick — A piece of equipment used to determine whether or not a rock is a biter.

Blank End — An end in which no rocks are touching the house, and thus no points are scored.

Blanking an End — Deliberately creating a blank end for the purposes of retaining the last rock advantage for the next end of play.

Board Weight — Throwing a rock with enough speed that it will come to rest in an area just behind the hacks--about 6 feet behind the house.

Bonspiel — Term used for a curling tournament.

Burn — To accidentally touch a rock in play.

Button — The center of the house.

Center Guard — A rock that is placed on the center line in front of the house.

Center Line — The line running down the center of the ice.

Clean — To lightly brush the ice in front of a moving rock to remove any debris and ensure a correct line.

Come-Around — Any shot that curls around another rock.

Corner Guard — A type of guard that is off to the side of the house.

Double Takeout — A takeout shot in which two other rocks are removed from play.

Draw — A shot that places the rock in a specific spot without hitting another rock.

Draw Raise — A shot in which the played rock pushes a rock straight forward into the house.

Draw Weight — Delivery speed required for a rock to come to rest in the house.

Eight-Ender — An end where all eight rocks score for one team.

End — In an end, each team throws 8 rocks, 2 per player, alternating by team.

Extra Ends — Overtime in a tied game.

Free-Guard Zone — Area between the hog line and the tee line, excluding the house.

Freeze — A precise draw weight shot where a delivered rock comes to rest against a stationary rock.

Guard — A rock that is placed in front of another rock as protection, or placed to later curl another rock around.

Gripper — A rubber or other material attached to a curling shoe to improve traction on the ice.

Hack — Similar to a starting block, it is used to push off of for delivery.  There are 2, 1 for right handers and 1 for left handers.

Hack Weight — The weight required to deliver a rock in order that it travels to the hack at the distant end.

Hammer — The last rock in an end.

Heavy — A rock that is thrown harder than required and will probably slide too far.

Hit and Roll — A takeout rock that, after making contact with another rock, slides (rolls) into a designated area.

Hit and Stay — A takeout where the played rock stays in the spot where it made contact with the stationary rock.

Hog Line (far) — The line which the rock must completely cross to be considered in play.

Hog Line (near) — The line by which the rock must be clearly and fully released by the thrower.

Hog Line Violation — Failure to release a rock before crossing the near hog line.

Hogger — A rock that does not make it over the far hog line and is removed from play.

House — The three concentric circles where points are scored.

In-off — A shot where the delivered rock hits another rock near the outer edge of the sheet at an angle, making the shooter roll into the house.

In-Turn — A shot in which the handle of the rock is rotated across the body.

Lead — The player who throws the first two rocks.

Light — A rock that is not thrown hard enough.

Measure Stick — Equipment used to determine which of two or more rocks is closest to the center when it can not be determined by visual inspection.

No Handle — A rock without a turn.

Off the Broom — A rock thrown wide of the broom.

On the Broom — A rock thrown directly at the broom held by the skip.

Out-Turn — A shot in which the handle of the rock is rotated away from the body.

Peel — A takeout that removes a rock from play and the thrown rock.

Peel Weight — A rock delivered with a heavy takeout weight.

Pick — Occurs when the rock hits a foreign object on the ice and changes its direction.

Port — A space between two rocks just wide enough for a rock to pass through.

Raise — A shot in which the delivered rock bumps another rock forward.

Raise Takeout — A shot in which the delivered rock bumps another rock which in turn knocks another rock out of play. Also called a runback.

Roll — Any movement of a rock after striking another.

Rub — When a moving rock barely touches another stationary rock.

Second — The player who throws the third and fourth rocks.

Sheet — The ice on which the game is played.

Shot Rock — The rock in the house closest to the button.

Skip — The player who calls the shots and traditionally throws the last two rocks.

Slider — A piece of Teflon or similar material attached to a curling shoe that allows the player to slide along the ice.

Spinner — A rock thrown with a rapid rotation, will curl very little or not at all.

Steal — Scoring in an end without the hammer.

Sweep — To sweep the ice in front of a moving rock, which causes it to travel farther and curl less.

Takeout — A rock that hits another rock and removes it from play.

Takeout Weight — The weight required when delivering a rock in order to make a takeout.

Tap Back — Use of the thrown rock to tap another rock towards the back of the house.

Tee Line — The line that crosses the center line at the button.

Third — (or Vice) The player who throws the fifth and sixth rocks.

Vice — (or Third) The player who throws the fifth and sixth rocks. The vice acts as skip while the skip throws.

Weight — The amount of speed with which a rock is delivered.

Wide — A rock delivered off the broom.