Term

 What it means

Barrier/ Backboard

 Simply the boards the end of each rink.

Biter 

A stone that barely touches the outside of the house, i.e. the 12-foot ring

Blank End

A game that ends without any of the teams scoring a point.

Bonspiel

Typically a friendly gathering to play the game but it can mean any tournament.

Burned Stone

Touching of a stone when it is moving.

Button

The central circle that surrounds the tee. It's usually one foot in diameter.

Centre Line

The line that passes through the centre of the playing area. It's drawn from one hack, i.e. the point from which a player delivers the stone, to the other. A visual aid only.

Chip

A takeout that hits a rock at an angle

Chip and lie / chip and roll 

When a played stone strikes the edge of another stone and moves to another position in play

Come Around

A shot played by a player that curls about the guard.

Come To

When the skip asks for a stone that stops close to another but not necessarily a freeze.

Corner guard 

A type of guard that is off to the side of the house; usually employed when a team has the hammer and needs to score multiple points

Counter 

A stone in the house lying closer to the centre than any of the opponent's stones. Each counter scores one point at the completion of an end.

Cover

Protection given to a rock by a rock in front of it

Curl

When a stone moves in a rotating motion, because the handle is turned, it is called curl.

Curl 

Movement of a moving rock away from a straight line; as a verb, to play at curling

Delivery

Whenever a rock is thrown, it is called delivery.

Double

 When two stones are removed from the playing area with a single shot, it is called double.

Draw

When a player plays a shot in such a way that it stops within the outside circle.

Draw raise 

A shot in which the played stone pushes a stone straight forward into the house

Eight-ender

At the end of the game, if a team scores the maximum possible points, it is called an eight-ender.

End

When both the teams have thrown all the rocks in one of the divisions of the game, it is called an end.

Extra End

In case of a tie, an additional end is played so that a game of curling ends with a result.

Fall 

A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown in that area to curl negatively

Free Guard Zone

The rule that states that an opponent's rock resting in the free guard zone cannot be removed from play until the first four rocks of an end have been played

Freeze

A stone that stops after touching another stone.

Front End

In a curling team, the second and the lead player is called front end.

Guard

If the stone becomes stationary in such a way that it is in front of another stone, it's called guard.

Hack

The rubber footpads used to push off for delivery at both the ends of the ice sheet.

Hammer

The shot that is played last is called the hammer.

Heavy

If a player delivers a stone with more force than required, it is called heavy.

Hit

When a stone is played with the intention of crashing with another stone.

Hit 

Any shot where the aim is to move another stone; the opposite of a draw

Hit and Roll

When a played stone runs sideways after hitting its target, often to a hidden position.

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 stone stays in the spot where it made contact with the stationary stone; also called 'hit and stick' or a 'nose hit'

Hit weight 

Another term for take-out weight

Hog Line

A thick black line, 33 feet away from the hack.

Hog/Hogged Stone

A shot that comes to rest short of or on the far hog line and is removed from play

House

The scoring area of the game.

House

Houses are situated at both the ends of the ice sheet and are the circles that form the scoring area.

Hurry

A call given by a player hitting the stone to his teammates to sweep quickly.

Ice (more, less, too much, not enough) 

Adjustment to the crosswise distance between the skip's broom and the desired target area; for example, a player who feels that the skip's broom is too close to the target might request "more ice"

In-Turn

Whenever a right-handed player hits the stone and it rotates clockwise, it is called in turn.

Keen Ice

Also called fast ice, when a player needs very little effort to deliver the rock, it is called keen ice.

Last Stone

The stone thrown last in an end.

Lie / Lies / Lying 

The count of the number of stones of one colour closest to the centre of the button, closer than the innermost stone of the other colour. When a team "lies X" or "is lying X", that number of its stones are, at that moment, closer to the button than any opposition stone; were the end to finish then, the team would score that number of points.

Lose Handle

When a stone loses its rotating movement when it travels, it is called lose handle.

On the Brush

Whenever a player delivers a stone on line and as the skip intended.

Out Turn

Whenever a stone rotates counter clockwise when hit by a right-handed player.

Pebble

Small frozen bumps on the surface of the ice where the stones slide.

Peel 

A takeout that removes a stone from play as well as the delivered stone. These are usually intentional, such as for blanking an end.

Pick Up

When a stone catches dirt, hair or other on it's running band causing it to slow or change direction.

Port

A small opening that remains between two rocks. This opening is wide enough so as to let a stone pass.

Promote 

Another name for a raise; usually means to raise a guard into the house and make it a potential counter

Raise 

A shot in which the delivered stone bumps another stone forward

Raise takeout 

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

Reading the ice 

When a curler considers how the condition of a sheet of ice will influence the path of a thrown stone.

Reverse handle 

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.

Right off! 

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)

Rings

The concentric circles that comprise the house. You may also hear of 4, 8, 12 foot rings.

Rink

A curling team. Often used with a location ("the Manitoba rink") or the name of the skip ("the Smith rink").

A building housing the ice sheets ("the curling rink")

Sometimes used as a synonym for sheet

Rock

Another term for Stone commonly used in Canada and the USA.

Roll

When a stone moves once it hits another stone, it is called roll.

Roll

Any movement of a stone after striking another

Rotation 

Description of a spinning rock

Rub 

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

Running band

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

Second

Second is a player who throws the third and fourth rock for his team.

Sheet

The area in which a game of curling is played.

Shot rock / shot stone

The rock in the house closest to the button; the next closest rocks are second shot and third shot. To "be shot" means to have shot rock.

Skip

The player who leads the team.

Slider 

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

Soft release 

A type of release that makes the rock curl more, usually by imparting less rotation to the handle

Spinner

When a stone is thrown with too much spin, it is called spinner.

Split 

A draw shot in which the played stone hits on the side of a stationary stone and both move sideways and stay in play. Not to be confused with split the house

Steal

When a team scores a point without the advantage of the last rock, it is called steal.

Straight ice 

Ice on which stones curl less than usual

Swingy ice 

Ice on which stones curl more than usual

Take Out

When a player plays a shot that is hard enough so as to remove a stone from the playing area.

Takeout 

A rock that hits another rock and removes it from play

Takeout Weight 

The weight required when delivering a stone in order to make a takeout

Tap back 

Use of the delivery stone to tap another rock towards the back of the house

Tee

The centre point of the house, where the tee line crosses the centre line; the stones' distances from the tee determine the score for each end

Tee Line

The line that meets the centre line at the house.

Tee line 

The line that goes across the house intersecting with the middle of the button, splitting it into two halves

Thick / thin 

The degree of contact between two rocks; the thicker the hit, the more contact between the stones; a hit with a small amount of contact is thin.

Tram lines

Two lines on either side of the centre line. They serve no purpose other than a visual aid.

Weight 

The amount of speed with which a rock is delivered; more weight corresponds to a harder throw. When used in a phrase such as "tee-line weight", it refers to the delivery speed required for the rock to come to rest on the tee-line.

Wick 

A shot where the played stone touches a stationary stone just enough that the played stone changes direction

Wide 

A stone delivered off the brush to the side away from the desired target, and therefore unlikely to curl far enough to reach it