| (l')
| Arbitre
| The Umpire
|
| (la)
| Belle
| The final and deciding game of three. The second is "la ravanche"
|
| (un)
| Biberon
| When a boule finishes up actually touching the jack. The word literally means 'a baby's bottle)
|
|
| Bon Homme
| A compliment payed to a particularly good player
|
|
| Bonne Maman
| A way of rolling the boule on a very smooth surface in which the player bends forward from the waist and releases the boule near the feet
|
| (les)
| Boules Cloutées
| The old kind of boules which were made by hammering large-headed nails into wooden cores
|
| (les)
| Boules Collées
| Boules that are side by side and touching
|
|
| Boule Devant
| The French saying "Boule devant, c'est boule d'argent" ('a boule in front is a boule of silver), means that you should always try to keep pointing boules in front of the jack as here they will always have additional value as obstacles. When the other side try to get near the jack, they are in danger of knocking these blocking boules even more 'on'
|
| (les)
| Boules Farcies
| Boules that have been tampered with by the injection of either mercury or heavy oil. This moves their weight off centre and makes them more accurate when pointing. Fortunately they are very rare - and, of course, illegal.
|
| (les)
| Boules Lisses
| Boules that have no rings or stripes cut into their surface. Many shooters favour this kind of perfectly smooth boule
|
| (les)
| Boules Quadrillées
| Boules that have a large number of stripes or rings cut into their surface. This kind of boule is often favoured by pointers. In this country, they have been nicknamed 'pineapples'
|
| (un)
| Bras d'or
| Literally 'golden arm'. A compliment payed to a good thrower
|
| (le)
| But
| The jack or cochonnet
|
| (le)
| Cadrage
| The method of eliminating some teams or players so that the main competition can be run with the more manageable numbers of 16, 32, 64, etc
|
| (un)
| Carreau
| When a shooting boule scores a perfect direct hit on the target boule and, in doing so, not only knocks it away, but takes its exact position. The origin of the term is thought to have come from the fighting expression "rester carreau" - 'to remain on the spot, to be laid out cold'. "Le carreau" means 'the floot', but it is usually only applied to one that is either tiled or paved
|
| (la)
| Casquette
| When a shooting boule bounces off the top of the target boule without moving it at all. The word literally means 'a cap'
|
|
| Chiquer (une boule)
| When a shooter just tips the target boule and hardly moves it at all
|
| (le)
| Cochonnet
| The jack. The word literally means 'little pig'
|
| (la)
| Consolante
| The Plate Competition organised for those that do not qualify for the final rounds of the Main Competition. Entry into this secondary competition is often automatic in this country and there is sometimes also a Wooden Spoon Competition for those that do not qualify for or are eliminated from the Plate Competition. The elimination games for the Main Competition are usually played in pools, but the final rounds of the Main, Plate or Wooden Spoon Competitions are normally played on a knockout basis
|
| (le)
| Couloir
| The shape formed by a group of spectators standing round a game in progress. The word literally means 'corridor'
|
| (la)
| Demi-Portée
| A pointing throw in which the boule is thrown to land half way down the pitch
|
| (le)
| Devant-de-Boule
| When a boule finishes up in front of and touching an opponent's. This is a particularly effective placement as the opponent risks moving his or her own boule in an attempt to remove it
|
| (la)
| Donnée
| The precise place on the pitch where you are intending that your boule will land
|
|
| Doublettes
| Doubles, the game played by two people against two others
|
|
| Embouchonner
| To put a boule up against the jack, to make a "biberon" (q.v.)
|
|
| Fanny
| When a team has been beaten by 13 to 0, it is said to have been 'fannied'. There has been several suggestions as to whom the original Fanny might have been, but no conclusive proof as to her identity has yet been brought forward. Some competitions award a consolation prize to the first team to be fannied
|
| (le)
| Gari
| Another name for the jack
|
| (un)
| Gratton
| An unfortunate stone or bump on the pitch which deflects an otherwise good boule
|
| (la)
| Graphique
| The desk used by the organisers during a competition
|
| (le)
| Jack Nudge
| To hit the jack with a boule often followed with the shout"Jack Nudge!". A distance can also be recorded with a jack nudge ie. jack nudge 15 m. The record for a Jack nudge was performed by a Mr. R South , Manchester, who nudged a total of 30m across a road in Agay France 2003.
|
| (le)
| Kiki
| Another name for the jack
|
| (les)
| Kiply
| A measuring device, which also sometimes has a built in score recorder
|
| (les)
| Lignes Tracées
| When pistes are marked out with lines - often of string
|
|
| Marquer
(les boules,le cochonnet)
| When it is necessary to pick a boule or jack up during the progress of a game, it is usual to mark its exact position by tapping it into the ground with another boule and then drawing 2 or 3 radii from this central mark
|
| (la)
| Mêlée
| The choosing of teams by drawing lots
|
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