balkline

[ bawk-lahyn ]

noun

1. Sports. (in track events) the starting line.
2. Billiards.
   1. a straight line drawn across the table behind which the cue balls are placed in beginning a game.
   2. any of four lines, each near to and parallel with one side of the cushion, that divide the table into a large central panel or section and eight smaller sections or balks lying between these.
   3. a balk lying inside one of these sections.
   4. balk ( def 11 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of balkline¹

First recorded in 1830–40; balk + line ¹

Example Sentences

Welker Cochran, 63, swaggering billiard sharpshooter and Willie Hoppe's longtime touring opponent, world's champion six times in three-cushion, twice in balkline competition between 1927 and 1946, who trained for a match like a boxer, doing roadwork around Central Park and giving up smoking, once remarked, "The killer instinct is part of a billiards player"; of a heart attack; in Belmont, Calif. Died.

From Time Magazine Archive

Felix Grange, outstanding European billiardist, journeyed to the U. S.; entered the world's 18.2 balkline tournament in Washington, D. C. Last week, while practicing, he threw his cue aside in disgust.

From Time Magazine Archive

In balkline billiards, the next step up, the table is marked off in areas from which, for a player to go on scoring, at least one object ball must be driven within one or two shots.

From Time Magazine Archive

Eleven years later Hoppe, using the same queer sidearm stroke, defeated the long-haired, elegant French champion, Maurice Vignaux, in the bespangled ballroom of Paris' Grand Hotel to become at 18 the world's champion 18.1 balkline billiardist.

From Time Magazine Archive

The year after Ty Cobb broke into the majors, Willie Hoppe brought the world's 18.1 balkline championship home from Paris.

From Time Magazine Archive