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Jim - 02 Jul 2009 13:27 GMT

Playing pool. "If either the loose ball or the cue ball end up within the
rack, then all balls will be respotted."

What's a loose ball?

--
Jin

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Evan Kirshenbaum - 02 Jul 2009 17:00 GMT

> Playing pool. "If either the loose ball or the cue ball end up
> within the rack, then all balls will be respotted."
>
> What's a loose ball?

_The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards_ says

A ball that is not frozen to any other and is therefore not
spotted in the event the two are frozen. Also FREE BALL.

but that's in carom billiards, not pool. The relevant sense of "free
ball" is

When two billiard balls are frozen, the third ball, not touching
either of the others, is known as the "free ball." Also LOOSE
BALL.

There are other senses of "free ball" that might be appropriate. There
are only two that seem relevant to pool: "optional cue ball" and "the
original name given to the break ball by its inventor, Jerome Keogh,
in 1910". The "break ball" is the last ball on the table after 14
have been pocketed. The 14 balls are re-racked, and the break ball is
the target of the next shot. "Optional cue ball" isn't defined in the
searchable part of the book on Google Books.

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Jerry Friedman - 03 Jul 2009 02:39 GMT

> > Playing pool. "If either the loose ball or the cue ball end up
> > within the rack, then all balls will be respotted."
>
> > What's a loose ball?

...

> There are other senses of "free ball" that might be appropriate. There
> are only two that seem relevant to pool: "optional cue ball" and "the
> original name given to the break ball by its inventor, Jerome Keogh,
> in 1910". The "break ball" is the last ball on the table after 14
> have been pocketed. The 14 balls are re-racked, and the break ball is
> the target of the next shot.

That's got to be the one. Here's more context (which would have been
helpful here), from another request for help with this phrase:

"If either the loose ball or the cue ball end up within the rack, then
all balls will be respotted.

"The objective on this shot is to ensure the cue-ball is left in such
a place that on the next shot, the loose ball can be potted with the
cue-ball then breaking open the pack."

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/english_to_spanish/sports_fitness_recreation/3331681-l
oose_ball.html

So it's about the breaks in straight pool (14.1 continuous) or some
similar game. However, the official rules of straight pool are a good
deal more complicated. See rule 4.8 at

http://www.wpa-pool.com/index.asp?content=rules_141

Also, it looks like "respotted" in the first sentence should be
"reracked" or just "racked".

--
Jerry Friedman

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009

Pool