Question: where did the curling term hammer come from

title: Curling
text: This rule , a relatively recent addition to curling , was added in response to a strategy of `` peeling '' opponents ' guard stones ( knocking them out of play at an angle that caused the shooter 's stone to also roll out of play , leaving no stones on the ice ) . A team in the lead would often employ this strategy during the game . By knocking all stones out , the opponents could at best score one point ( if they had the hammer ) . Alternatively , the team with the hammer could peel rock after rock , which would blank the end , keeping the last rock advantage for another end . This strategy had developed ( mostly in Canada ) as ice - makers had become skilled at creating a predictable ice surface and the adoption of brushes allowed greater control over the rock . While a sound strategy , this made for an unexciting game . Observers at the time noted that if two teams equally skilled in the peel game faced each other on good ice , the outcome of the game would be predictable from who won the coin flip to have last rock ( or had earned it in the schedule ) at the beginning of the game . The 1990 Brier was considered by many curling fans as boring to watch because of the amount of peeling and the quick adoption of the Free Guard Zone the following year reflected how disliked this aspect of the game had become .