page_title: Glossary of cue sports terms
section_title: D
hierarchical_section_title: Glossary of cue sports terms / D
caption_attribution_description: Racking up a game of seven-ball using the diamond rack more commonly used for nine-ball, but sideways. The 1 ball is about to be placed on the foot spot to complete the rack. (This is the closeup version; for the larger-view version, see below.)
context_page_description: The following is a glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: carom billiards referring to the various carom games played on a billiard table without pockets; pool, which denotes a host of games played on a table with six pockets; and snooker, played on a large pocket table, and which has a sport culture unto itself distinct from pool. There are also hybrid pocket/carom games such as English billiards.
context_section_description: "D", the 
  A semicircle with an ​11 ¹⁄₂-inch (291 mm) radius, drawn behind a snooker table's baulk line, centred on the middle of the line, and resembling the upper case letter "D" in shape. The "D" is also used in English billiards and sometimes also in blackball and other pool games played on British-style tables.
   dart stroke 
  A short and loose stroke performed in a manner similar to the way one throws a dart; usually employed for a jump shot. See also nip draw.
  dead 
  When two or more object balls are frozen or nearly frozen to each other, such that cue-ball contact with one object ball, without the necessity of great accuracy, will almost certainly pocket an intended object ball in the cluster. The most common form of dead arrangements are the dead combination or dead combo (a combination shot in which contact with the first object ball will pocket another one), and the dead kiss, in which contact with the first object ball will pocket it off of another one. See also wired.
   dead cushion 
  Same as  dead rail.
   dead ball 
  1.  Short for dead ball shot.
  2.  A ball that has been used for some time, with a dirty surface, as opposed to a slick new (or highly polished used) ball. A spinning dead ball will transfer more spin to other balls it comes into contact with, and not be as fast on the cloth. Even cut shot angles may be affected because of the cling or skid (British: kick) effect, and professional players often ask a referee to clean a ball, mid-game.  Others may actually be more used to dead balls and prefer them.
   dead ball shot 
  Same as kill shot.
   dead rail 
  A cushion that has either lost a degree of elastic resiliency or is not firmly bolted to the frame, in both cases causing balls to rebound with less energy than is normal.
   dead stroke 
  When a player is playing flawlessly, just "cannot miss" and the game seems effortless.
   deadweight 
  Describing a pot played at such a pace as to just reach the pocket and drop in without hitting the back.
   deflection 
  Displacement of the cue ball's path away from the parallel line formed by the cue stick's direction of travel; occurs every time english is employed. The degree of deflection increases as the amount of english applied increases. It is also called squirt, typically in the United States.  The physics of the squirt or deflection phenomenon has been analyzed in other contexts, such as with ice-hockey pucks. Squirt has also been applied metaphorically in sports journalism and the gaming press to describe the escape of a ball or puck from player control. However, it remains primarily a cue sports technical term, and does not appear to be frequently used as jargon in football, hockey, or other sports.
   deliberate foul 
  A shot, especially common in straight pool and in some variants of blackball (but not WEPF/EPA rules), in which a player intentionally commits a foul with the object in mind of either leaving the opponent with little chance of running out or simply to avoid shooting where no good shot is presented and to do anything else would give the opponent an advantage. It is often referred to in straight pool as a "back scratch."
   designate 
  Same as call. (Formal.)
   develop 
  To move a ball (usually deliberately) from a safe position, e.g. close to the middle of a cushion or in a cluster, so that it becomes pottable.
  diamond 
  1.  One of a number of identical markings, usually inlaid into the surface above the rail cushions, used as target or reference points. Three equally spaced diamonds are normally between each pocket on a pool table. On a carom table, the pockets themselves are replaced by additional diamonds. Diamonds get their name from the shape of the markings traditionally used; though many today are round, square, etc., these rail markings are still referred to as "diamonds". They are also referred to as sights, especially in British English. (See also diamond system.)
  2.  A particular shape of ball rack, in the form of a parallelogram ("diamond shape"), used for racking games of nine-ball and seven-ball, though the triangle rack can also be used for the forme
caption: Racking up a game of seven-ball using the diamond rack more commonly used for nine-ball, but sideways. The 1 ball is about to be placed on the foot spot to complete the rack.
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