![]() ![]() In a certain sense it is not even a rule. One of its most fundamental rules, however, does not belong to this set. As in any game, a relatively complex set of explicitly framed rules is followed in snooker. (And one need not go as far as talking about magical powers or hidden properties or essences.) “art” (or, worse, “Art”, although I do not really know what the difference between “art” and “Art” might be) and, precisely because all such attempts are bound to fail, think that questions such as “What is the meaning of art?”, “What is art?”, or maybe the even queerer “What is the meaning of art?” are of extraordinary importance. Now just think that certain people are still bothered with attempts of offering definitions of ultra-general family resemblance concepts such as e.g. Everything said in the preceding paragraph would shortly become crystal clear to most. ![]() And then explain the rules, techniques and terminology as the game goes on, most of the time by pointing to something that is happening and saying “this is a cue”, “you see, he potted a red, now he is going to do such-and-such”, “there are such-and-such points remaining, so if he pots this his opponent will need a snooker”, “he missed the pink but the frame was already won”, etc. But would it not be much simpler (and more effective) to explain what the game of snooker is and what being snookered is by showing an actual game being played? Absolutely. Unlike “cue sport” (or “billiards”, when used with the same sense as “cue sport” and not referring to the particular games of “billiards” or “carom billiards”), “snooker”, when used to refer to the game of snooker, and not in a loose sense (equivalent to that of “pocket billiards”), is not quite a family resemblance concept, which means it is perfectly possible to offer a more or less precise definition of it, comprising all its relevant features. Sure, there is nothing wrong with this definition, but it is still dramatically incomplete, perhaps even misleading. billiard table in which the players use a (white) cue ball in order to hit (often to pocket) the other balls (fifteen reds and six of different colours) in a certain order. A definition might help, then: snooker is a game played (especially in the UK and China) with cues on a 12 ft. Someone who does not know what the game of snooker consists of would at best understand half of what has been said so far. A “Chinese snooker”, in its turn, is a reverse snooker position where the cue ball is in front of, rather than behind, a ball that is not on, making the shot quite tricky because the players’ bridge is hampered and the cueing angle higher than in usual situations. In the game of snooker, to be “snookered” is indeed to be trapped, to be left in a certain difficult position: one where the player cannot hit the intended (object) ball directly and so requiring to look for an escape (of course, some are far more difficult than others). As a verb, to leaving someone or being left in a difficult position, to prevent or being prevented from finishing an intended plan of action, or to trick or trap or being tricked or trapped. ![]() What is the meaning of “snooker”? As a name, it can be used to refer to a certain game (or, more accurately, to a certain cue sport) or to a certain position (or even, if preceded by the modifier “Chinese”, to another position) in this game and other similar games. ![]()
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