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Glite Dictionary
masse shot

masse shot

9.9
A pool shot where the player holds the cue almost vertical so the cue ball curves around another ball
  • noun
  • Jargon
translation icon : tiro de masse
  • To clear the table, he expertly executed a masse shot, sending the cue ball around the other balls with precision.

Examples

  • Few players in the league could execute a masse shot successfully, in any case.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Examples include "shooting a cut shot," "shooting a bank shot," "shooting a masse shot," "chalking the cue stick," "racking the balls," and so on.

    Academic text (2000)

  • During the tournament, he amazed everyone with his impressive masse shot that curved perfectly around his opponent's ball.

  • She practiced her masse shot for hours, determined to master the technique required to make the cue ball curve.

Synonyms

masse
vsmasse shot
  • Jargon
20 9.9

A shot in pool that makes the cue ball curve by hitting it with the cue held almost upright

focuses on curving path around another ball rather than general spin

How Difficult

masse shot
  • Jargon
9.9
cut
11 5.1
pitch shot
  • Jargon
4.9
bank shot
3 3.7

Surface Forms

masse shot singular
masse shots plural

Morphology

masse + shot

The phrase is directly compositional: 'masse' names a particular type of billiards stroke (a curving strike) and 'shot' indicates a stroke/action, so together they denote that specific kind of shot. Although 'masse' is a specialist/borrowed term, if a learner knows both constituents the overall meaning is predictable and transparent.

Etymology

Masse shot comes from French pool players who held the cue almost vertical and struck the cue ball so it spun and curved around another ball. Think of masse as the special way of hitting and shot as the hit itself, and that's why a masse shot means 'a shot that curves sharply'.