Glossary of Curling Terms

A delivered stone that bumps another stone into the house.

When a curler considers how the condition of a sheet of ice will influence the path of a thrown stone, similar to how a golfer reads the undulations and texture of a green before determining where and how hard to hit a putt.

When a stone is thrown with a particular turn, but it eventually stops and begins to rotate in the opposite direction; usually the result of a pick or poor ice conditions. Sometimes it may even reverse twice in one shot, creating unpredictable shots that follow an S-shaped path.

A call given by the skip to tell the sweepers to neither sweep nor clean the rock; as compared to off!, which tells the sweepers to stop sweeping but not necessarily to stop cleaning.

The house.

1. A curling team. Often used with a location ("the Manitoba rink") or the name of the skip ("the Smith rink"). 2. A building housing the ice sheets ("the curling rink"). 3. Sometimes used as a synonym for sheet.

The device thrown by curlers during the game. It is made of granite and has a standard weight of 19.6 kg (44 lb). Also called a stone.

Any movement of a stone after striking another stone.

Description of a spinning rock.

When a moving stone barely touches another stationary stone; less contact than a chip.

A section of the curling sheet that is dipped or troughed that can prevent a stone to curl or draw down its normal path of travel.

A shot in which the delivered stone bumps a second stone which in turn knocks a third stone out of play.

The part of the rock which comes in contact with the ice. It is about 7 mm wide (0.25 inches).