A caber is a roughly trimmed young pine-trunk, 20 or more feet long used in Scottish highland games (tossing the caber) as a trial of strength, being held upright by the smaller end and tossed so as strike the ground with the other end and turn over. Research Caber
Calabresella (Terziglio) is an Italian card game for three players. (It can be played by four with the dealer receiving no cards for the hand.) It is closely related to the four-player game Tressette. It is a point-trick game with bidding, requiring a fair amount of skill. It is notable for the slightly unusual card order (threes high) and the fact that there are never any trumps. A 40-card pack is used, usually with the Italian suits: swords, batons, cups and coins. In each suit the cards rank as follows: 3 (highest), 2, Ace, King (Re), Knight (Cavall), Jack (Fante), 7, 6, 5, 4 (lowest). It is also possible to play with French suited cards: from a 52 card pack the 10s, 9s and 8s are removed, and the cards rank 3 2 Ace K Q J 7 6 5 4. The cards have point values and the object is to take tricks containing valuable cards. There is also a score for winning the last trick. Research Calabresella
The Calcutta Cup is a Rugby Union perpetual challenge trophy at issue since 1878 in the annual match between England and Scotland. The cup was fashioned from the silver rupees left after the disbandment of the CalcuttaFootballClub in 1877, and was fashioned by Indian craftsmen and presented to the RugbyFootball Union. Research Calcutta Cup
Calf-roping is a rodeo event in which a mounted cowboy must lasso a free running calf in the ring from horseback, tie the rope to his saddle, dismount and throw the calf to the ground by hand and tie together any three of the animal's feet. Research Calf-Roping
The California Angels are an American professional baseball team. They adopted their name in 1965, previously being known as the Los Angeles Angels. Research California Angels
Callisthenics is the art or practice of exercising the body for the purpose of giving strength to the muscles and grace to the carriage. The term was formerly applied to the physical exercises of females, as gymnastics was to those of males. During the 20th century the term came to mean a type of gymnastic exercise intended to promote health and muscle building. Research Callisthenics
Cambuca was a form of hockey played in England during the 14th century until it was banned by Edward III because the playing of it interfered with training for war. Research Cambuca
Camicia is a card game of pure luck for two players. It is the Italian version of Beggar My Neighbour, and like that game, it is a children's game. The American game Egyptian Ratscrew is also related. The game is played with an Italian deck of 40 cards in which the suits are ignored. There are two types of cards: aces, two and threes are attack cards, the other are normal (cannon-fodder) cards. Research Camicia
Camogie is Ireland's native field sport for women. It is a 12-a-side stick- and-ball game similar to hurling with similar rules except that physical contact between the players is not allowed, and the pitch is slightly shorter. Research Camogie
Canasta is a card game for four players in fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other, played with two 52-card standard decks plus four jokers shuffled together to make a 108-card deck. Research Canasta
Canne is a French individual combat sport which developed over the centuries from a form of quarterstaff into something nearer fencing. It is played with a cane (called a canne) which is held in one hand and may be whirled as well as parried and lunged. Research Canne
Canoe Polo is a form of water polo in which the players are in short low canoes, known as bats, which they propel with a double paddle. Research Canoe Polo
In horse riding, a canter is a moderate and easy gallop adapted to pleasure riding. The canter is a thoroughly artificial pace, and as such at first extremely tiring to the horse. Research Canter
Cardiff RFC is a Welsh Rugby Union footballclub. It was founded in 1876 and became a first-class club during the 1880s under the captaincy of Hancock who developed the four-three-quarter system. Research Cardiff RFC
Carrousel was a name given in the middle ages to a tilting match or other occasion when knightly exercises, such as riding at the ring, throwing the lance, were publicly engaged in. They were superseded by tournaments, but were again revived when the latter had fallen out of use, and were frequent at the court of Louis XIV. Research Carrousel
Originally a casino was a Continental establishment for the promotion of social intercourse. The buildings were handsome and contained rooms for reading, dancing, music, billiards and other pastimes. More recently Casinos have become places for gambling.
Casino or Cassino is a card game. It is the only fishing card game to have become popular in English speaking countries. Although it is traditionally supposed to have originated in Italy, there is no direct evidence of it having been played there, at least under that name, though many other Italian fishing games are known. Casino first appears in the card game literature at the end of the eighteenth century in London, and shortly afterwards in Germany. In the late nineteenth century it became fashionable in America and a number of new variations were developed. There is a dispute about the correct spelling of the name - the earliest sources use the spelling Casino, but a tradition has grown up among later writers to spell it with a double 's': Cassino. Research Casino
Cat's cradle, formerly called scratch cradle and before that cratch cradle, is a game played with a loop of string stretched across the two hands between the fingers. The art is to cross the thread into a resemblance of some object, and to then pass the whole to the hands of another player who then creates a new design. Research Cat's Cradle
In sport, the term catch weight means without weight restrictions. Thus in boxing two fighters of different weight classes may contest each other. Research Catch Weight
Cau robat is a card game played in Catalonia, the north east part of Spain. It is a children's fishing game similar to Scopa and Scopone although simpler and with greater scope for chance. Research Cau Robat
Cego is a special type of Tarok, played in south west Germany. It was developed in the early part of the nineteenth century and became the national card game of Baden and Hohenzollern, where it remains extremely popular. These are the only parts of Germany where genuine Tarok cards (here known as Cego cards) are still in general use. (A game called Tarock is played in Wurtemberg and Bavaria, but that game uses a normal 36-card German pack). Cego is unusual among Tarokgames in that an extra hand, the
Cego, sometimes known as the Tapp or Blinde, is dealt to the centre of the table. Many of the bids involve playing with this extra hand, retaining only one or two of one's original cards and discarding the remainder. The discarded cards are sometimes called the Legage. The idea of this type of bid derives from a version of L'Hombre, and survives in a few other games, such as Vira. Research Cego
Celtic FC is an Association Footballclub formed in east Glasgow in 1887 by Irish Catholics with the aim of raising money to provide meals for needy children. In 1890 the club became a founder member of the Scottish League from which it has never been relegated. Research Celtic FC
The Cesarewitch Handicap is a horse-race which was inaugurated in 1839, and is run over 3600 meters at Newmarket in late October. It is the second leg of the Autumn Double. Research Cesarewitch Handicap
The Canadian Figure Skating Association (CFSA) is a national sport governing body responsible for developing and administering skating programs and services for its 200,000 registered membership. In addition to providing skating programs, the CFSA certifies coaches, trains judges, accountants, referees and other officials for skating competitions at national and international levels, administers athlete programs for the national and junior national teams, and maintains and provides its membership with records of tests passed in the CFSA test system. The national office of the Canadian Figure Skating Association is located at the Canadian Sport and Fitness Administration Centre in Gloucester, Ontario. Research CFSA
The Champion Stakes is an important English horse-race for three-year old and older horses run over 2000 meters at Newmarket in mid October. Research Champion Stakes
Charades is a party game in which participants try to guess a word from mimes enacted by another player. Variations include guessing the title of a book, or television programme or film, and the acting player will mime individual syllables of the secret word or words of the title, indicating the appropriate syllable or word being mimed by holding up the corresponding number of fingers. Research Charades
Cheat (also known as 'Bullshit' and 'I Doubt It') is a card game for between two and ten players. One standard pack of 52 cards is used. All the cards are dealt out to the players; some may have more than others, but not by much. The object is to get rid of all your cards. Select at random who should go first and continue clockwise. On the table is a discard pile, which starts empty. A turn consists of discarding one or more cards face down on the pile, and calling out their rank. The first player must discard aces, the second player discards two, the next player threes, and so on. After tens come Jacks, then Queens, then Kings, then back to Aces, etc. Since the cards are discarded face down, you do not in fact have to play the rank you are calling. For example if it is your turn to discard sevens, you may actually discard any card or mixture of cards; in particular, if you don' t have any sevens you will be forced to play some other card or cards. Any player who suspects that the card(s) discarded by a player do not match the
rank called can challenge the play by calling 'Cheat!', 'Bullshit!' or 'I doubt it!' (depending on what you call the game). Then the cards played by the challenged player are exposed and one of two things happens: 1. if they are all of the rank that was called, the challenge is false, and the challenger must pick up the whole discard pile; 2. if any of the played cards is different from the called rank, the challenge is correct, and the person who played the cards must pick up the whole discard pile. After the challenge is resolved, play continues in normal rotation: the player to the left of the one who was challenged plays and calls the next rank in sequence. The first player to get rid of all their cards and survive win any challenge resulting from their final play wins the game. If you play your last remaining card(s), but someone challenges you and the cards you played are not what you called, you pick up the pile and play continues. Research Cheat
Chelsea FC is an Association Footballclub in London. It was founded in 1904 and accepted into the second division of the footballleague. In 1997 Chelsea FC won the FA Cup in 1970, 1997 and again in 2000. Chelsea FC play at Stamford Bridge, which was opened in 1877 and at first used by the London Athletics Club and after changing ownership was offered to Fulham FC, who declined the offer to use the ground which instead was used by the newly formed Chelsea FC who rented the ground during the football season. Research Chelsea FC
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most important steeplechase run in England at level weights with all competitors carrying 12 stone, unlike the Grand National which is a handicap. The race is run in mid- March during the National Hunt meeting at Cheltenham over 5250 meters. Research Cheltenham Gold Cup
Chess is a well-known game of great antiquity and of eastern origin, having probably arisen in India, and thence spread through Persia and Arabia to Europe. The name itself as well as many of the terms used in the game are clearly of eastern origin, the word chess being formed from the old French eschecs, from Persian shah, a king; rook is from the Sanskrit roka, meaning a ship or chariot; checkmate from Persian shah mat, the king is dead.
The game is played by two persons on a board which consists of sixty-four squares arranged in eight rows of eight squares each, alternately black and white. Each player has sixteen men, eight of which, known as pawns, are of the lowest grade; the other eight, called pieces, are of various grades. They are, on each side, king and queen; two bishops, two knights, and two rooks or castles. The board must be placed so that each player shall have a white square to his right hand. The men are then set upon the two rows of squares next to the players; the pieces on the first, the pawns on the second row, leaving between each side four unoccupied rows. The king and queen occupy the central squares facing the corresponding pieces on the opposite side. The queen always occupies her own colour, white queen on white square, black on black. The two bishops occupy the squares next the king and queen; the two knights the squares next the bishops; the rooks the last or corner squares. The pawns fill indiscriminately the squares of the second or front row.
The men standing on the king's or queen's side of the board. are named respectively king's and queen's men. Thus king's bishop or knight is the bishop or knight on the side of the king. The pawns are named from the pieces in front of which they stand; king's pawn, king's knight's pawn, queen's rook's pawn, etc. The names of the men are contracted as follows:-King, K.; King's Bishop, K.B.; King's Knight, K.Kt.; King's Rook, K.R.; Queen, Q.; Queen's Bishop, Q.B.; Queen's Knight, Q. Kt.; Queen's Rook, Q.R. The pawns are contracted: K.P., Q.P., K.B.P., Q.Kt.P., etc.
The board is divided, inversely from the position of each player, into eight rows and eight files. Counting from White's right hand to his left, or from Black's left to his right, each file is named from the piece which occupies its first square, and counting inversely from the position of each player to that of the other, the rows are numbered from 1 to 8. At White's right-hand corner we have thus K.R. square;
immediately above this K.R. 2; and so on to K.R. 8, which completes the file; the second file begins with K.Kt. square on the first row, and ends with K.Kt. 8 on the eighth. White's K.R. 8 and K.Kt. 8 are thus black's K.R. square and K.Kt. square, and the moves of each player are described throughout from his own position, in inverse order to the moves of his opponent.
In chess all the men capture by occupying the position of the captured man, which is removed from the board. The ordinary move of the Pawn is straight forward in the same file; a pawn never moves backward. The first time a Pawn is moved it may be played forward one square or two; afterwards only one square at a time. But in capturing an adverse piece the Pawn moves diagonally to occupy the position of thy captured man. Thus if White open a game by playing P. to K. 4 and Black answers P. to K. 4, the pawns are immovable; but if White now plays P. to K.B. 4 or P. to Q. 4, Black may capture the Pawn last advanced. Pawns have another mode of capture peculiar to themselves, and only available against pawns. If Black's Pawn, instead of occupying K. 4, stood on K. 5, and White played P. to Q. 4, Black could not capture it by placing his Pawn on the square it occupies, which would be a false move; but he is at liberty to make the capture by placing his own Pawn on the square passed over by White's (Q. 6). This is called taking enpassant.
When a Pawn, by moving or capturing, reaches the eighth square of any file it can no longer remain a Pawn, but must at once be exchanged for a piece. The player may choose any piece except the king, but the queen, the most valuable piece, is generally the piece chosen. This is called queening a pawn, and a player may thus have several queens on the board.
The moves of the Rook are not, like those of the pawns, limited to a single direction. The Rook moves in any direction and for any distance that is open along either the particular row or the file on which it happens to stand. It can, of course, capture any obstructing man and occupy its place.
The Bishops, like the Rooks, are unlimited in range, and move either backward or forward, but their direction is diagonal, and they can never change the colour of their square.
The Queen combines the moves of the Rook and Bishop. She is the most powerful piece on the board, and can move to, or capture at, any distance or direction in a straight line.
The King is at once the weakest and the most valuable piece on the board. In point of direction he is as free as the queen, but for distance he is limited to the adjacent squares. Standing on any central square he commands the eight squares around him and no more. Besides his ordinary move the King. has another by special privilege, in which the Rook participates. Once in the game, if the squares between King and Rook are clear, if neither King nor Rook has moved, if the King is not attacked by any hostile man, and if no hostile man commands the square over which King has to pass, the King may move two squares towards either K.R. or Q.R., and the Rook in the same move must occupy the square over which the King has passed. This is called castling.
The Knight, unlike the other pieces, never moves in a straight line. His move is limited to two squares at a time, one forwards or backwards, and one diagonally, and he can leap over any man occupying a square intermediate to that to which he intends to go. The Knight, like the King, when on a central square commands eight squares, but they are at two squares' distance, and all in an oblique direction. All captures in chess are optional.
The definite aim in chess is the reduction to surrender of the opposing king. The King in chess is supposed to be inviolable, that is, he cannot be taken, he can only be in such a position that if it were any other piece it would be taken. Notice of every direct attack upon him must be given by the adversary saying check and when the King is attached all other plans must be abandoned, and all other men sacrificed, if necessary, to remove him from danger, cover the attack, or capture the assailant. It is also a fundamental rule of the game that the King cannot be moved into check. When the King can no longer be defended on being checked by the adversary, either by moving him out of danger, or by interposing, or by capture, the game is lost, and the adversary announces this by saying checkmate. When, by inadvertence or want of skill, the player having the superior force blocks up his opponent's King so that he cannot move without going into check, and no other man can be moved without exposing him, the player, reduced to this extremity, cannot, without violating the fundamental rule referred to, play at all. In such a case, the one player being unable to play and the other out of turn, the game is considered drawn, that is, concluded without advantage to either player. Research Chess
Cheuca was an early form of hockey played by the Araucano Indians in Argentina. It was played by two teams on a pitch roughly 100 meters long and 10 meters wide with a back line at each end serving as a goal. The sticks had a twisted end and the ball was enclosed in a leather case. Research Cheuca
Chicago is a card game for two to four players, using a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Points are scored for having the best hand according to poker ranking, but also in the final stage of the game the cards are played to tricks, and points are scored by the winner of the last trick. Research Chicago
The Chicago Bears are an American professional football team. They began in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys and formed the nucleus of a naval training team. Research Chicago Bears
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team. They joined the American League when it was founded in 1901 and won the league's first title. The 1906 team were nicknamed the ' hitless wonders' for their batting average of .228, but won the world series. Research Chicago White Sox
Ciapano, also known as Rovescino, Traversone, Tressette a non Prendere, Perdivinci or Vinciperdi is a trick-taking card game and is the reverse game of Tresette. The name Ciapano is in Milanese dialect (in English it could be translated as 'Don't catch it!') - Ciapano was very popular in Lombardy until the 1980s and still played there now. Like most Italian games it is played anticlockwise. Ciapano can be played by 3, 4 or 5 players. A 40- card deck is used. In the North East of Lombardy the Italian suits: swords, batons, cups and coins are used. In the South or North West of Lombardy the game is played with 40 cards of the Milanese pack which has French suits (spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds). In each suit the cards rank as follows: 3 (highest), 2, Asso (ace), Re (king), Cavallo (horse, or queen), Fante (jack), 7, 6, 5, 4 (lowest). The cards have point values and the object is to avoid taking tricks containing valuable cards. There is an extra penalty for winning the last trick. Research Ciapano
Cicera is an Italian fishing card game closely related to the popular game Scopa. It is played in the province of Brescia and the technical terms are given in the dialect of Brescia. This game is the reason why the Bresciane pack is made with 52 cards and not with 40 as other Italian packs. (Trevisane cards are also made as 52 card packs because in that zone they play Scarabocion, which is another variant of Scopa similar to Cycera). There are four players, two against two in fixed partnerships; you sit opposite your partner. As in most Italian games, play is anticlockwise. A Bresciane 52-card deck is used. The cards in each suit are Re (king), Cavallo (horse), Fante (jack), 10, 9 ,8 ,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A. It would also be possible to play with a standard international 52 card pack, but in Brescia, the local cards are always used. Research Cicera
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team. They were a founding member of the National League under the name of the Cincinnati Red Stockings up to 1880 and then re-entered in 1890 under the name
Cincinnati Reds. Research Cincinnati Reds
The Cleveland Browns are an American professional football team. They dominated the All- American Football Conference from its founding in 1946 until 1950 when the Cleveland Browns were merged into the NFL. Research Cleveland Browns
Club Ball was an ancient pastime played with a stick and a ball and of 'rude and unadulterated simplicity'. By Tudor times Club Ball was being combined with elements of stoolball to evolve a form of cricket in the true line of the modern game. Research Club Ball
Coaching is the sport of driving and racing a coach and horses. It was at its peak of popularity in the nineteenth century, previous to then the conditions of the roads had been generally too poor and had restricted speeds. Generally mail-coaches were used. Research Coaching
Cockshy is a game in which trinkets are set upon sticks, to be thrown at by the players. It developed from an ancient popular sport which consisted of shying or throwing cudgels at live cocks. Research Cockshy
The Commonwealth Games, originally called the British EmpireGames, are an athletic event and major championship of the International Amateur Athletic Federation. The games are held at four-year intervals, the first games being held in Hamilton, Canada in 1930 and the first with women's events at London in 1934. Research Commonwealth Games
Contraband was a bluffing family card-based game produced by Pepys Games in the UK between the 1950s and 1970's, based upon the classic playing card game of 'Cheat'. Contraband used proprietary cards, and currency tokens in a game where the object was to smuggle goods - represented pictorially upon the cards - past the 'customs official' - one of the players. Research Contraband
Contract Bridge is a variety of Auction Bridge in which only the exact number of tricks which the declarer contracts to make score towards the game. The variety evolved around 1912, and gained popularity from 1930 onwards. Research Contract Bridge
The Cooper was a British racing car. The first version was built in 1946 by John Cooper and his father Charles
Cooper. It was a 500 cc single-cylinder model made from available components. Research Cooper
The Cotswold Games are an obsolete English rural sports meeting, probably dating back to the sixteenth century. the games were revived in 1604, with royal approval, by Robert Dover, who called them Cotswold's Olympic Games. They became known as Dover's Games and lasted until 1850. Research Cotswold Games
Cottabus was an ancient Greek game, which consisted in throwing wine from cups, without spilling, into little basins of metal, suspended in a particular manner or floating in water. Research Cottabus
Coursing is the pursuit of game by dogs running by sight, not by scent. Modern coursing is mainly restricted to greyhound racing where the object is not to catch the hare, but rather a race of speed between the dogs. The first known set of English rules for coursing was drawn up in the reign of Elizabeth I by the Duke of Norfolk.
Coursing meetings were held in various localities, at which dogs were entered for a variety of stakes, as horses are at a racemeeting. When a hare was started it was allowed a certain advance on the dogs, which were then let loose from the 'slips' or cords held by the 'slipper' and fastened to the dogs' collars. A judge kept his eyes on the dogs, and noted what were called 'points,' the victory being adjudged to the dog which makes the most 'points.' Research Coursing
Coventry City FC is an English Association FootballClub. Coventry City FC was formed in 1883 by employees of the Singers bicycle firm, and was known then as 'Singers', changing its name to Coventry City in 1898. Coventry City FC play at Highfield Road, where they have played since 1899. Coventry City were elected to the Football League Division Two in 1919. In 1987 Coventry City FC won the FA Cup. Research Coventry City
The Cox Plate is a valuable weight-for-age horse-race held in Australia. It is competed over 2000 meters at Moonee Valley race-track near Melbourne. Research Cox Plate
Crambo is an old guessing game which was very popular in the 17th century. One player thinks of a word and mentions another word with which it rhymes. The other players try to guess the word by defining the word guessed by a synonym without actually naming it. For example; 'A word rhyming with dog'; ' Is it a mist?'; 'No it's not fog'; 'Is it a pig?'; 'Yes it is hog'. In Dumb
Crambo the word guessed has to be portrayed in pantomime without speaking. Research Crambo
Crap-shooting (Craps) is a form of gambling with dice which is especially popular in America. Two dice are rolled or 'shot' from the open hand; a throw of 7 or 11 (nick or natural) wins all stakes; 2, 3 or 12 (crap) loses all. Any other number (a point) entitles the thrower to continue until he wins by throwing the same number again, or loses by throwing the 7. Research Crap-shooting
Crazy Eights is a card game for two or more players, in which the object is to get rid of the cards in your hand onto a discard pile by matching the number of suit of the previous discard. There are a huge number of variations of this game, and many alternative names. It is sometimes called Crates, Switch, Swedish Rummy, Last One or Rockaway. In Germany it is Mau- Mau; in Switzerland it is Tschausepp. Some British players call it Black Jack. The basic game of Crazy Eights uses a standard 52-card deck, or two such packs shuffled together if there are a lot of players. The dealer deals (singly) five cards to each player (seven each if there are only two players). The undealt stock is placed face down on the table, and the top card of the stock is turned face up and placed beside the stock to start the discard pile. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, and continuing clockwise, each player in turn must either play a legal card face up on top of the discard pile, or draw a card from the undealt stock.
The following plays are legal: if the top card of the discard pile is not an eight, you may play any card which matches the rank or suit of the previous card (for example if the top card was the king of hearts you could play any king or any heart); an eight may be played on any card, and the player of the eight must nominate a suit, which must be played next; if an eight is on top of the pile, you may play any card of the suit nominated by the person who played the eight. The first player who gets rid of all their cards wins, and the other players score penalty points according to the cards they have left in their hands - 50 for an eight, 10 for a picture, and spot cards at face value. Crazy Eights is one of the easiest games to elaborate by adding variations, and is not often played in its basic form. There are variations in the number of cards dealt, the rules about drawing cards and the scoring system. Frequently special meanings are given to particular cards; when played these cards affect the sequence of play, or have other effects.
In the normal game, you may always use your turn to draw a card. However, some people play that you may only draw if you are unable to play - if you can play you must. Some allow the drawn card to be played immediately if it is a legal play. Some allow more than one card to be drawn - either up to a fixed number of cards, after which if you still cannot (or will not) play the turn passes to the next player. Others require you to continue drawing until you can play. There may be a rule that you must alert the other players when you have just one card left. If you fail to do so you must draw cards (usually two) from the stock as a penalty. Traditionally an eight can be played at any time and the player can nominate any suit. Some play that you can only play an eight that matches (either the same suit or another eight). Some play that you can play an eight at any time but cannot nominate another suit - the next player must match the suit of the eight you played or play another eight.
Some players use jacks or aces rather than eights as the cards which have the power to change suit. Some play that when a queen (or some other designated rank) is played, the next player in rotation misses a turn, and the turn passes to the following player. Some play that when an ace (or some other designated rank) is played, the direction of play reverses, becoming anticlockwise if it had been clockwise, or vice versa. Some play that when a two is played the next player must either draw two cards or play another two. If several consecutive twos have been played the next player must either play another two or draw two cards for each two in the sequence. Research Crazy Eights
Cribbage is a fairly complex card game usually for two players, but also played in pairs by four players. Cribbage is thought to have been invented by Sir John Suckling in the first half of the 17th century and is very popular in London, and pubs throughout Britain where it is played for money and in competition leagues. Two distinct varieties of singles cribbage are played, with players receiving either five or six cards to their hand. A third, seven card variety is described, but the author has never encountered it.
Standard cribbage is played with the whole deck of cards. It may be played by two, three, or four persons; and when by two, five or six cards may be dealt to each. Five-card cribbage played by two persons is the most scientific game. Sixty-one-points make the game; there are no tricks and no trumps, the object being to make pairs, fifteens, sequences, or the go, or prevent the adversary from doing the same. Court cards and tens count as ten each, and all the rest count for the number of 'pips' upon them. Every pair, that is, every couple of cards of the same value belonging to different suits (two aces, two fours, two kings, etc), counts two; and when there are three or four similar cards, as many pairs are counted as there are different combinations of the cards taken two at a time. Every combination of cards, the united pips of which make up fifteen, counts two. A sequence consists of three or more cards of any suit following one another in rank, and counts one for each card.
When the player whose turn it is to play cannot play a card without going beyond thirty-one, the other player scores one for having been the nearest to thirty-one. This is called scoring one for ' the go.' The remaining cards after thirty-one, or the next point to it, is made, are thrown up, and each player's cards are counted. When all the cards in a hand, either with or without the turn-up card, are of one suit, or when all the cards in the crib, with the turn-up card, are of one suit, it is called a flush, and counts one for each card. When the turn-up card is a knave the, dealer scores two ('two for his heels'). When a knave of the same suit with the turn-up card is found in the hand of either player, the player in whose hand it is scores one ('one for his nob').
There are variations on the play. In most cases, a singles game is played until a 31 limit is reached, and a pairs game until all cards have been played, with additional 31 limits being encountered. However, a popular variety extends the idea of playing until all cards have been played to the singles game, also. While the luck of the deal can contribute to the game, there is also sufficient scope for skilful selection of cards to be discarded and played to allow a player with poor luck but experience to beat a lucky but inexperienced player. This level of skill in cribbage has enabled it to be licensed for the playing of moderate stakes in licensed premises in the United Kingdom. Research Cribbage
Cricket is the English national summer game - although the English cricket team of the 1990s is an international joke. The modern day game seems to have evolved around the 16th century from earlier bat and ball games dating from the 13th century and assumed its present form, through evolution, in the 18th century. A picture in a manuscript from 1344 depicts a monkbowling a ball to another monk who is about to strike it with a staff or crutch known as a cric. The earliest mention of the word 'cricket' occurs in 1593 when John Derrick telling how attending the free school in Guildford 'he and his fellowes did run and play there at crickett and other plaies'.
Cricket is a team game played by two teams of 11 players each on a pitch of smooth grass. Two wickets of three stumps each are pitched fronting each other at a distance of about 22 yards apart, the stumps being upright rods stuck in the ground, and projecting 27 inches. On the top of each set of stumps are placed two small pieces of wood called bails. After the rival sides have tossed for the choice of either taking the bat or fielding, two men are sent to the wickets bat in hand. The opposite or fielding side are all simultaneously engaged; one (the bowler) being stationed behind one wicket for the purpose of bowling his ball against the opposite wicket, where his coadjutor (the wicket-keeper) stands ready to catch the ball should it pass near him; the other fielders are placed in such parts of the field as is judged most favourable for stopping the ball after it has been struck by the batsman or missed by the wicket-keeper.
It is the object of the batsman to prevent the ball delivered by the bowler reaching his wicket either by merely stopping it with his bat or by driving it away to a distant part of the field. Should the ball be driven any distance the two batsmen run across and exchange wickets, and continue to do so as long as there is no risk in being 'run out,' that is, of having the stumps struck by the ball while they are out of their position near the wickets. Each time the batsmen run between the wickets is counted as a ' run,' and is marked to the credit of the striker of the ball. If the batsman allows the ball to carry away a bail or a stump, if he knocks down any part of his own wicket, if any part of his person stops a ball that would have otherwise reached his wicket, or if he strikes a ball so that it is caught by one of the opposite party before it reaches the ground, he is 'out,' that is, he gives up his bat to one of his own side; and so the game goes on until all the men on one side have played and been put out. This constitutes what is called an 'innings.' The other side now take the bat and try to defend their wickets and make runs as their rivals did. Generally after two innings each have been played by the contestants the game comes to an end, that side being the victors who can score the greatest number of runs. Research Cricket
Croquet is an open-air lawn game which was introduced into England around 1850. Croquet is played with balls, mallets, hoops, and pegs on a level area, which should be at least 30 yards long by 20 yards wide. The iron hoops (shaped like the letter U) are fixed with their two ends in the ground, arranged in a somewhat zigzag manner over the ground; they are usually ten in number. The posts or pegs (two, in number) are placed at the near and far end of the field respectively, marking the starting and turning points. The game may be played by any number of persons up to eight, either individually, or arranged in couples or in sides. The object of the players is to drive with the mallets the balls belonging to their own side through the hoops and against the posts in a certain order, and to prevent the balls of their opponents from completing the journey before their own by playing them against those of the enemy, and driving them as far as possible from the hoop or post to be played for; the player or players whose balls first complete the course claiming the victory. Research Croquet
A cross buck is an offensive manoeuvre in American Football where by two running backs cross paths and charge into the opposition's line, one of the backs receiving the ball from the quarterback while the other back fakes possession. Research Cross Buck
Croupade is a movement in dressage whereby the horse jumps up from a pesade with all four legs drawn up under its body and lands back on all four legs in the same place. Research Croupade
The Crystal Palace Circuit was a difficult motor racing road circuit in the centre of the London suburb of Sydenham. It was opened in 1937 with a lap distance of two miles, and re-opened after the war in 1953 with a lap distance of 1.39 miles. Today it is closed. Research Crystal Palace Circuit
Cuarenta is a card game played in Ecuador, mostly by people from the mountains, including the cities of Cuenca and Quito. Cuarenta means '40' in Spanish; this is the number of cards in the deck as well as the points required to win. The play is supposed to be full of bravado, loud, exciting, even silly. Cuarenta can be played by two or four people. If there are four players, then there are two teams (partners sit across from each other). One of the team-mates keeps the score; the other collects cards as they are won.
Cuarenta is played with 40 cards from a standard 52-card deck. The eights, nines and tens are removed leaving the numbers ace-2-3-4-5-6-7 (ace is low) and the pictures. The removed 8's 9's and 10's are not used in the play, but they are used to keep score. At the start of the game they are placed in a face up stack between the two players who will be keeping score for their teams. Research Cuarenta
Cuckoo is a simple round card game which can be played by a large number of people. It dates back to the 17th century, maybe earlier. Other names for this game are Ranter Go Round and Chase the Ace. In the USA it is also known as 'Screw Your Neighbour'.
Cuckoo can be played with a standard 52 card pack. The direction of play differs in different countries - in what follows we assume clockwise. Each player starts with an equal number of lives, say 3. Deal one card to each player. The object is not to be left holding the lowest card. Suits are irrelevant and the cards rank K (high), Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A (low). Each player has one turn, beginning with the player on dealer's left, continuing clockwise round the table and ending with the dealer. At your turn you may either keep your card or exchange it with your left hand neighbour, in the hope of getting a better one. Your neighbour must exchange unless she has a king, in which case she exposes it and you keep your card. The dealer, whose turn comes last, can try to exchange with a card cut from the undealt stock. After everyone has had a turn, the cards are exposed and whoever has the lowest card loses a life. If several players tie for lowest they all lose a life. Players who have lost all their lives are out of the game, and the last person left in wins. In various countries of Europe, special cards have been made for this game. These cards consist of a single suit with numbers from 1 to 10 or 12 and several picture cards ranking above and below the numbers; there are generally two copies of each card in the pack. When played with these cards, the basic cuckoo game is normally elaborated by giving several of the picture cards special properties when a player tried to exchange with them. Research Cuckoo
Curling or the Roaring Game is a Scottish national game akin to bowls played with large smooth stones having somewhat the shape of a flattened hemisphere, weighing from 80 to 45 lbs. each, with an iron or wooden handle at the top, from one mark to another on the ice. Curling is said to have been introduced from the Low Countries in the 16th century.
The space within which the stones move is called the rink, and the hole or mark at each end the tee. The length of the rink from tee to tee varies from 30 to 50 yards. The players are arranged in two parties, each headed by a skip or director. The number of players upon a rink is eight or sixteen - eight when the players use two stones each, and sixteen when they use one stone each. There may be one or more rinks according to the number of curlers. The object of the player is to lay his stone as near to the mark as possible, to guard that of his partner which has been well laid before, or to strike off that of his antagonist. When the stones on both sides have been all played the stone nearest the tee counts one, and if the second, third, fourth, etc, belong to the same side, each counts one more, the number played for being generally twenty-one. If a player's stone does not cross a line, called the hog-score, at some distance in front of the tee his shot goes for nothing and the stone is removed from the rink. The set matches are termed bonspiels. Since the 19th century the game has been played in England, Canada, the USA and elsewhere. Research Curling
The Currie Cup is a South African cricket trophy presented by Sir Donald Currie for competition between the South African provinces. It was first won by Transvaal in 1890. The Currie Cup is a South African provincial Rugby Union competition, first contested in 1892 and presented to Griqualand West Rugby Union. Research Currie Cup
Cycle Ball is an amateur cycling ball-game derived from Association Football in which the ball is trapped, driven forward, and shot at goal by the rider manipulating the front wheel of his bicycle. It is played indoors between teams of two riders, and as a field game between teams of six. World championships are held annually. Research Cycle Ball
Cycling is a sport and also leisure pursuit whereby a cycle, formerly also known as a velocipede, which is a light vehicle, is impelled by the person or persons whom it carries, and in its most common form is a bicycle ,being two-wheeled.
The forerunner of the bicycle; dating from about 1817, had two wheels of nearly equal size, one before the other, and connected by a beam on which the driver sat, and was propelled by the thrust of the rider's feet on the ground. The 'dandy horse' was a name given to this kind of cycle, which never came into very common use.
About 1861 a superior vehicle was introduced, having treadles operating cranks on the axle of the front wheel, and soon many forms of the machine became popular; but for a time the bicycle was a clumsy article requiring much labour to get any speed out of it, and the derisive name of ' boneshaker' was not undeserved. It formed the basis, nevertheless, for the various kinds of cycle now so common, which, were originally constructed almost entirely of steel (or, in some cases, of aluminium), with the greatest economy of material, and furnished with improvements that gradually came into use.
The bicycle is kept in an upright position by the action of the rider's body and legs, by the steering power, and also by its own momentum. The tricycle followed the bicycle, and "sociables', tandems, and other forms of cycle have also been introduced.
At first the wheels of the bicycle were of the same size later the front or driving wheel was made very much larger than the hinder wheel, by 1905 the front or steering wheel and the hinder or driving wheel were generally made nearly or quite the same size. One great improvement in early cycles was in the use of india-rubber tyres to the wheels, which greatly reduced the jolting, and a further improvement was the introduction of 'pneumatic' or hollow tyres of india-rubber, which have to be pumped quite full of air and kept so when the vehicle is in use.
The usual diameter of the wheels of early cycles was 28 inches, but in some early machines the steering-wheel was made about two inches larger. Ball-bearings are used in the hubs, the pedals, and other parts of the machine where it is desirable to diminish as much as possible the friction of rotation; brakes of more than one kind have been in use, but the most common for many years comprised the brake power being gained by a block of india-rubber made to press against one or both wheels (both in the case of the 'free-wheel' cycle common since about 1900); and the general appearance and structure of the ordinary bicycle is familiar to all.
Multi-cycles of various kinds, ranging from tandems, through triplets and quadruplets to quintuplets, and even higher forms, were also fairly common at the start of the 20th century.
Motorcycles, in which the main driving power is a small petrol motor, were first constructed about 1900, and by 1905 were becoming quite common. In the early motorcyles the rider could take a companion along with him in a 'trailer' or in a 'fore-car', or 'side-car', by the later half of the 20th century such passengers were almost solely carried pillion on a double saddle.
Since 1900 the speed attained by an expert rider has been very great with the cycles then in use, by 1905 a speed of 40 mph having been recorded for a one milesprint and 10 miles at an average of 52 mph; 50 miles in a similar average speed also. Coming to longer distances, it was record
ded that 100 miles have been covered in about 2 hours 26 minutes; and 634 miles 774 yards in 24 hours recorded in 1899; while the 874 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats had been accomplished in 3 days 5 minutes 49 seconds before 1905. A remarkable cycling feat was the journey of 12,000 miles by Thomas Stevens across the continents of America, Europe, and Asia on a bicycle, commencing in April, 1884, at San Francisco. Many longer rides of a similar kind have since been done, an early one being that carried out by by Foster Fraser and two companions in 1896 to 1898, covering 19,237 miles in 774 days.
The tricycle offers a safer seat to its occupant, but owing to the friction and weight of the vehicle the same rate of speed has not been got out of it. Cycling had become exceedingly common by the start of the 20th century, almost wherever there are roads that allowed it. The manufacture of cycles had also become important industry, the chief seats of it in England traditionally being Coventry, Birmingham, London, Nottingham, and Wolverhampton.
Since its invention, the cycle has been recognised not only as affording a healthy exercise and enabling the cyclist to enjoy natural scenery and to travel from place to place with cheapness and facility, but was very commonly used for business purposes, as by tradesmen in distributing goods, workmen going to and from their work, post-office employees, and others, while it was also adopted for various military purposes.
Cycling clubs quickly became very numerous in Britian. The early Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC) and the National Cyclists' Union (NCU) were the more comprehensive early organizations, the former indeed having an international character. Both were of great service to the early cycling public in various ways. In the United Kingdom, bicycles, tricycles, and similar machines are by law declared to be carriages within the meaning of the acts relating to roads and highways, and special enactments have been in force. Early laws governing cycling in the Uk included:
'During the period between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise, every person riding or being upon such a carriage shall carry attached to the carriage a lamp, which shall be so constructed and placed as to exhibit a light in the direction in which he is proceeding, and so lighted and kept lighted as to afford adequate means of signalling the approach or position of the carriage.'
'Upon overtaking any foot-passenger or cart or carriage, or any horse, mule, or other beast of burden, the rider must, by sounding a bell or otherwise, give audible and sufficient warning of the approach of the carriage. Any person summarily convicted of offending against these regulations is liable to a fine of not more than forty shillings.'.
By the late 20th century cycling had become a diverse sport with such distinct disciplines as BMX, Cycle Speedway, Road Racing, Time Trialling, Cytclo-Cross, Mountain Biking, Cross-Country Cycling, Downhill Racing, Track Racing and of course leisure cycling and commuting. Research Cycling
Cyclo-Cross is a form of bicycle racing practised in winter on cross-country courses of about 20 km length over a duration of about 60 minutes depending upon the severity of the course. Research Cyclo-Cross
Abbreviations
Recreation
Research Caber
