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F

F1 [Motor Sports] Abbreviation for Formula One.

F&C [Motor Sports] Flagging and Communications, aka corner workers. Flaggers, communicators, safety staff at the corners of a track.

F-Head [Motor Sports] Side exhaust valve and overhead inlet valve.

F.a. [Soccer] Football Association; often used to refer to the English Football Association, who, along with FIFA and other football associations, helps maintain the rules of soccer.

F.I.S. [Skiing] The Fédération Internationale de Ski, (International Ski Federation) and the ruling body of international ski competition.

Fa [General] Football Association.

Faab [General] Federation of Asian Ameteur Boxing

Fab Four [Blackjack] A term coined by Don Schlesinger used to describe the top four surrender plays that vary from basic strategy based upon the hi-lo counting system.

Face [Wrestling] (noun) A wrestler who is liked by the fans. Wrestlers are generally divided into two groups, the good guys (the faces) and the bad guys (the heels). Until recently, faces were generally those wrestlers who played by the rules and more or less acted like nice guys. Today, the most popular wrestlers are often those who don’t play by the rules, don’t respect authority, and act like anything but nice guys. Also known as babyface, good guy, or fan favourite.

Face Angle [Golf] The position of the club face relative to the intended line of ball flight. A square face angle aligns directly at the target, an open face aligns to the right, while a closed face aligns left. (Assuming right handed golfers.)

Face Balanced [Golf] A putter that, when balanced toward the shaft tip, will exhibit the property of the putter face being parallel to the groundline. Face balanced putters tend to be favored by players who employ a straight back-straight through putting stroke.

Face Card [Blackjack] The face cards are the Jacks, Queens, and Kings. They all have a value of 10. So including the face cards there are sixteen 10-value cards per deck.

Face Cards [Baccarat] The jack, queen, and king, which together with the 10, have a zero valuation.

Face Centerline [Golf] An imaginary line intersecting the center of a club face.

Face Down (Game) [Blackjack] Dealing Style. In face down game, player's first card is up, second card is down. There is Face up game as well. Each style has slightly different table etiquette of play.

Face Insert [Golf] The center portion of the face on a wooden, composite, or metal head, typically constructed from epoxy, graphite or some type of fibrous material. Effective with a 1992 USGA ruling, all types of woods, irons and putters may have face inserts.

Face Mask [Ice Hockey] The protective mask worn by the goalie.

Face Off [Water Polo] See neutral throw.

Face Progression [Golf] The measurement from a shaft’s centerline to the front of the club face.

Face Radius Gauge [Golf] Four-sided gauge used to measure the bulge and roll of a club face. Each side of the gauge has a particular radius, for example, 9”, 11”, etc. When the side of the gauge matches the radius of the face, the bulge or roll is identified.

Face Screw [Golf] Aluminum, brass or steel screw(s) used to help secure face inserts into wooden or graphite wood heads.

Face Shield [Luge] See visor.

Face Up (Game) [Blackjack] Dealing Style. In face up game, both cards are dealt up and cards are not touched by player - presumably to prevent cheating. Each style has slightly different table etiquette of play.

Face-Off [Ice Hockey] The method of starting play; the dropping of the puck by the official between the sticks of two opposing players standing one stick length apart with stick blades flat on the ice; used to begin each period or to resume play when it has stopped for other reasons.

Face-Off Circles and Spots [Ice Hockey] The various circular spots on the ice where an official and two players will hold a face-off to begin or to resume the action of the game; there are one blue and four red face-off circles located in the neutral zone; two red face-off circles are found at each end of the ice.

Faceoff [Ice Hockey] The method of starting play at the beginning of a period or of restarting after play has been stopped for any reason. Two opposing players stand a stick-length apart with their stick blades flat on the ice and a referee or linesman drops the puck between them. Other players must remain outside the faceoff circle or at least 15 feet away if the faceoff is at a spot that's not in a circle.

Faceoff Circle [Ice Hockey] There are five faceoff circles, each 30 feet in diameter, one at the center of the rink and two in each end of the rink.

Faceoff Spot [Ice Hockey] In addition to the faceoff spots located in the center of each faceoff circle, there are four faceoff spots in the neutral zone, located directly in line with the faceoff spots in the end faceoff circles and 2 feet from the blue lines.

Facing the Breeze [Horse Racing] See the "death".

Faction [Wrestling] Translates into a group of wrestlers with a group name.

Factory [Motor Sports] A term designating the "Big Three" auto manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The "factory days" refer to periods in the 1950s and '60s when the manufactures actively and openly provided sponsorship money and technical support to some race teams.

Factory Defect [Poker] An irregularity in one or more cards, such as misprinted or flawed cards or other unintentional markings, which could permit observant players to identify some (or, rarely, all) of the cards from the back.

Factory Equipment [Motor Sports] The standard and options that make up the equipment of a used vehicle.

Factory Team [Motor Sports] A team owned or operated directly by an automobile manufacturer.

Fade [Golf] A term used to describe the slight turning of the ball from left to right (by a right-handed player) at the end of its flight. From right to left for a left-handed player.

Fadeaway Jumper [Basketball] Same as fallaway jumper.

Faded [Golf] Gradually falling back, giving up ground to other dogs.

Fai [Skydiving] Fegravedegraveration Aegraveronautique Internationale: The international body which administers sport aviation throughout the world.

Fair [Sailing] In good condition.

Fair Ball [Baseball] A batted ball which lands in fair territory. If a ball lands in the infield between home and first base, or between home and third base, and bounces out-of-bounds it is a foul ball. If a fly ball lands on or beyond first or third base and then rolls out-of-bounds, it is a fair ball. Foul lines and poles are in fair territory.

Fair Catch [Rugby] A player may make a fair catch by catching the ball cleanly from a kick by the opposing side and calling "Mark!" He must have at least one foot on the ground behind his side's 22-meter line or within the in-goal area. A free kick is usually awarded from the spot of the catch, at the referee's discretion.

Fair Game [Roulette] A game where neither the house nor the player has the edge. Roulette is not a Fair Game.

Fair Territory [Baseball] Part of the playing field within, and including the first base and third base lines, from home base to the bottom of the playing field fence and perpendicular upwards. All foul lines are in the fair territory.

Fairlead [Sailing] A fitting designed to control the direction of a line with minimal friction.

Fairway [Golf] The area of the course between the tee and the green that is well-maintained allowing a good lie for the ball

Fairway Wood [Golf] A wood club used to hit the ball from the fairway, rather than the driver.

Faith, Hope, and Charity [Bowling] Same as Christmas Tree.

Fake or Feint [Soccer] A move by a player meant to deceive an opposing player; used by a ball carrier to make a defender think the ball carrier is going to dribble, pass or shoot in a certain direction when he is not.

Fall [Wrestling] When both of the opponent's shoulders are in contact with the mat (a pin), a wrestler is awarded a fall, which wins the match in international wrestling. In college wrestling, the pin must be held for one second, in high school wrestling for two seconds.

Fall Guy [General] A guilty or innocent person who accepts the full blame for a crime in order to protect others.

Fall Line [Skiing] The fastest route down a ski slope, but not necessarily the straightest.

Fall Off [Sailing] Also bear away or bear off. A boat falls off the wind when it points its bow further from the eye of the wind. The opposite of heading up.

Fall Rate [Skydiving] The rate at which you fall, another name for terminal velocity except that it refers the rate relative to other jumpers, rather than an absolute velocity. Fall rate is adjusted by adjusting body position. Different shape and weight jumpers in exactly the same body position will fall at different rates. Fall rate must be adjusted to be the same as everyone else so that the jumper can do RW.

Fall-Line [Skiing] The line a snow-ball would take down a given slope -- the steepest, shortest, and fastest line down any given slope.

Fallaway Jumper [Basketball] A jump shot on which the player jumps somewhat backward as well as up before launching the shot, to make it more difficult to block.

Falling on the Puck [Ice Hockey] An infraction, incurring a minor penalty, that occurs when a player other than a goalie deliberately falls on the puck, gathers the puck under his body while lying on the ice, or closes his hand on the puck.

False [Fencing] An action that is intended to fail, but draw a predicted reaction from the opponent; also, the back edge of a sabre blade.

False Cut [Poker] A cheating maneuver in which the deck appears to be cut, but the stacked portion remains unchanged at the top.

False Double Foul [Basketball] A situation in which opposing players foul one another in succession, not simultaneously, with the second foul occurring before the ball has been put back into play after the first foul. Each foul carries a separate penalty. Compare double foul; false multiple foul; multiple foul.

False Favorite [Horse Racing] Horse that is a race favorite but you consider the horse does not have as much chance of winning as other runners in the race. See underlay.

False Grid [Motor Sports] Area where cars form up before going out for practice or races.

False Multiple Foul [Basketball] A situation in which a team commits two fouls in succession, with the second foul occurring before the ball has been put back into play after the first foul. Each foul carries a separate penalty. Compare double foul; false double foul; multiple foul.

False Openers [Poker] A hand that was opened without having opening requirements. For example, in jacks or better, the opener must have already in his hand at least a pair of jacks. Someone in next-to-last position in an unopened pot might have four cards to a straight flush and dearly like to open the pot. If he does, he is said to have false openers. Usually the opener of a pot has to show openers. If he cannot prove he had openers, the player cannot win the pot.

False Quarter [Horse Racing] Horizontal crack in the hoof caused by injury to the coronet.

False Shuffle [Blackjack] The shuffling action by a cheating dealer which preserves the original order of the cards or some pre-arranged order of cards that the dealer has set up while shuffling for a certain purpose (ie to deal himself a natural, to deal a winning hand to an accomplice etc).

False Start [Horse Racing] The race starter will declare a false start and order a restart if one or more of the barrier tapes fail to release in a standing start event, or if in a mobile event, a runner, through no fault of its own, has been denied a fair start.

Falter [Horse Racing] This is when a horse tires badly.

Faltered [Horse Racing] Used for a horse that was in contention early and drops back in the late stages. It is more drastic than weakened but less drastic than stopped.

Family Pot [Poker] A pot where all of the players at the table are participating, even after each has had an opportunity to act.

Fan [Poker] 1) Mix the cards; shuffle the deck. 2) Spread the cards face up on the table in an overlapping fashion. 3) Spread the cards in one's hand in such a way that just the edge of each can be seen; usually done by holding the whole deck so it ends up looking like a fan.

Fan Belt [Motor Sports] Transmits power from a crankshaft-driven pulley to an engine fan and other accessories.

Fan Fin [Motor Sports] A fin on top of the hood of an IRL car, behind the air box and just forward of the rear wing. The main purpose of the fin is not aerodynamic, but rather to have a large vertical surface to paint the car's number on, in order to make identification of the cars at speed easier.

Fan Mail [Baseball] At first, they began to trickle in but then there was no stopping them, as literally hundreds of e-mails, faxes and chatboard posts came flooding through the information highway in praise of the Notre Dame baseball team and the way it competed at the 2000 NCAA Starkville Regional. A large portion of the comments came from the rabid Bulldogs fans, who formally had inducted the names of Notre Dame players such as Stanley, Billmaier, Tamayo, Felker, Nussbaum, Porzel and Corbin into the storied history of Dudy-Noble Field. A common thread throughout all the e-mails originating from Mississippi was a desire for the Irish to make a return visit ... and it didn't take long to work out those logistics, as Notre Dame will open its 2001 season at Mississippi State's National Bank of Commerce Classic, on Feb. 17-18.

Fan Method [Skiing] A more traditional method of teaching downhill turning techniques whereby the student gradually decreases their angle of approach to the fall-line with each successive attempt to produce a single turn.

Fancy Face [Golf] Generic term given to antique wooden woods whose faces featured unusual designs, usually constructed from different materials (dowels, pins, etc.)

Fandori [Martial Arts] Free sparring using throws and takedowns.

Faq [Blackjack] The acromym for Frequently Asked Questions, and their answers.

Far Post [Soccer] The goalpost furthest from the ball.

Far Turn [Greyhound Racing] The third turn of the racetrack.

Fari Gatka [Martial Arts] An Indian form of fencing centered around shields (fari) and swords (gatka). The gatka is a three foot, leather-covered stick. The fari, nine inches in diameter, is also leather bound. To score points the stick must simply touch the vital points designated on the opponent's body.

Farm [Poker] All one's chips; usually preceded by bet the. When a player goes all in, someone may say, "He's betting the ranch." Also, the ranch.

Farm Club/Team [Baseball] A minor-league team subsidized by or linked to a parent club in the major leagues.

Farrier [Horse Racing] Horseshoer, blacksmith. Also called a "plater."

Fast [Poker] To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible. Example: "When you flop a set but there's a flush draw possible, you have to play it fast."

Fast (Track) [Horse Racing] Optimum condition for a dirt track that is dry, even, resilient and fast.

Fast Action [Poker] The state of a fast game.

Fast and Clean [Canoeing] Descriptive of an excellent whitewater run, since it covers the course quickly with a minimum of penalty points.

Fast Ball [Baseball] A straight pitch thrown by the pitcher as hard as possible.

Fast Break [Basketball] Also called the run-and-shoot or run-and-gun offense, it begins with a defensive rebound by a player who immediately sends an outlet pass toward midcourt to his waiting teammates; these teammates can sprint to their basket and quickly shoot before enough opponents catch up to stop them.

Fast Game [Poker] One with a lot of action, that is, with lots of betting, raising, and re-raising from most of the players.

Fast Pace [Poker] Fast pace describes a game with a lot of betting and raising, performed by most of the players; slow pace describes a game without much betting and raising.

Fast Peek [Poker] 1) A quick look at one's cards, done by an angle shooter in such a way as to elude detection (usually with the intention of then claiming to be betting blind). 2) A quick look by a thief at part of the deck.

Fast Player [Poker] An aggressive player, one who bets at almost every opportunity. In a no-limit game, one who bets large at almost every opportunity, often on risky propositions. One who bets and raises frequently, in an attempt to drive out timid or conservative players.

Fast Shuffle [Poker] An appearance of shuffling the cards by a cheat, but without actually changing their order (from a presumably set-up arrangement), by pulling one half of the pack through the other half, and then replacing the deck to its original position.

Fast Track [Horse Racing] Dry, hard strip on which horses run fastest; a track at which typical running times are relatively fast by comparison with most other tracks.

Fast-a [Baseball] Otherwise known as "Advanced A," these A-level minor leagues are the California League, Carolina League and Florida Stat League.

Fastback [Motor Sports] A car that has an unbroken curved line from the top of the roof to the rear bumper as opposed to a drop in the line for a near-vertical rear window. In a fastback design the rear window slope follows the unbroken roof line and is often at less than a 45 degree angle.

Fastening [Sailing] An item such as a nail, screw, rivet or other device used to fasten objects together.

Fat [Poker] 1) Winning. 2) Having money, usually as a result of having had a recent windfall, often in the form of a recent large win. Also, flush.

Fat Shaft [Golf] A shaft, designed by Wilson, that utilizes an oversize tip, over-hosel design in an attempt to provide head/shaft stabilization on off-center hits.

Fat Shot [Golf] When the club hits the ground behind the ball. This results in high or low shots with a loss of distance

Fathom [Sailing] A nautical measurement equaling 6 feet (182 cm). Usually used to measure depth.

Fathometer [Sailing] A brand name for a depth measuring device.

Fatten [Poker] 1) Put more chips in the pot; also sweeten. 2) Give one's chips to a particular player; usually followed by up. "I don't know why I keep giving him action; all I do is fatten him up all the time."

Fault [Badminton] Any violation of the playing rules. Faults include: An illegal service, e.g., one that is done underhand or that does not land in the proper service court. The shuttlecock hits the ground before it is returned. A shot lands outside the boundaries, fails to go over the net, or goes through the net. A player hits the shuttlecock before it crosses the net, or is guilty of a carry. A player strikes the shuttlecock twice, or both players on the same doubles team strike it.

Faults [Equestrian Sports] Penalty points added to a score. The most common penalties are: first disobedience: 3 faults second disobedience: 6 faults third disobedience: elimination obstacle knocked down: 4 faults one or both feet in the water: 4 faults fall of the horse or rider: elimination

Favorite [Horse Racing] The most popular horse in a race, which is quoted at the lowest odds because it is deemed to have the best chance of winning the race.

Favorite Bet [Keno] A bet selected by the player as being one that they would like stored for future re-use.

Favorite Toy [Baseball] The Favorite Toy is a method that is used to estimate a player's chance of getting to a specific goal in the following example, we'll say 3,000 hits. Four things are considered: 1) Need Hits - the number of hits needed to reach the goal. (This, of course, could also be "Need Home Runs" or "Need Doubles" - Whatever.) 2) Years Remaining. The number of years remaining to meet the goal is estimated by the formula 24- .6(age). This formula assigns a 20-year-old player 12.0 remaining seasons, a 25-year-old player 9.0 remaining seasons, a 30-year-old player 6.0 remaining seasons, a 35-year-old player 3.0 remaining seasons. Any player who is still playing regularly is assumed to have at least 1.5 seasons remaining, regardless of his age. 3) Established Hit Level. For 1996, the established hit level would be found by adding 1993 hits, two times 1994 hits, and three times 1995 hits, and dividing by six. However, a player cannot have an established performance level that is less than three-fourths of his most recent performance; that is, a player who had 200 hits in 1995 cannot have an established hit level below 150. 4) Projected Remaining Hits. This is found by multiplying the second number (ears remaining) by the third (established hit level). Once you get the projected remaining hits, the chance of getting to the goal is figured by (projected remaining hits) divided by (need hits), minus .5. By this method, if your "need hits" and your "projected remaining hits" are the same, your chance of reaching the goal is 50 percent. If your projected remaining hits are 20 percent more than your need hits, the chance of reaching the goal is 70 percent. Two special rules, and a note: 1) A player's chance of continuing to progress toward a goal cannot exceed .97 per year. (This rule prevents a player from figuring to have a 148 percent chance of reaching a goal.) 2) If a player's offensive winning percentage is below .500, his chance of continuing to progress toward the goal cannot exceed .75 per season. (That is, if a below-average hitter is two years away from reaching a goal, his chance of reaching that goal cannot be shown as better than nine-sixteenths, or three-fourths times three-fourths, regardless of his age.) 3) For 1994 and 1995, we used projected stats based on a full season of play..

Favourite [General] The most popular horse in a race, which is quoted at the lowest odds because it is deemed to have the best chance of winning the race.

Fb [Baseball] Fly Balls Hit Against the Pitcher (excludes line drives)

Fc [Motor Sports] Formula Club

Fcc Rules [Sailing] Federal Communications Commission Rules governing radio equipment and operation in the United States.

Fcw [Wrestling] Florida Championship Wrestling

Feather [Rowing] To turn the blade of an oar while rowing so that it's parallel to the surface of the water. The blade should be feathered during release to minimize air resistance.

Feather-Off [Croquet] A light take-off shot.

Featherie [Golf] An old leather ball stuffed with compressed feathers. Replaced by the gutta percha after 1848. Also spelled feathery.

Feathering [Sailing] A propeller that can have the pitch of its blade changed to reduce drag when not in use. Also see folding and variable pitch propellers.

Feathers [Archery] The flights on an arrow to aid in stability in flight.

Feathery [Golf] A 19th century ball constructed by filling a leather pouch with boiled feathers. Featheries were easily damaged and gave way to gutta-percha balls prior to the turn of the 20th century.

Feature [Motor Sports] The main event at a weekly racing session or regional (or, less commonly, a national) event. Typically, a short track running weekly racing will have several classes, and each class has a feature (possibly more than one) where most of the money and points for that class are awarded. Starting positions for the feature are often determined by running heat races.

Feature Race [Horse Racing] While usually found to be a Stakes event, the feature race is usually the race of the day that presents the highest quality horses of the day.

Feature Races [Greyhound Racing] Top races.

Fee [Horse Racing] 1) Amount paid to a jockey for riding in a race. 2) The cost of nominating, entering or starting a horse in a stakes race.

Feed [Poker] Throw money off to someone. "You've been feeding him all day. How about throwing off some chips this way?"

Feed the Kitty [Poker] 1) Bet or call foolishly, or knowing that one is taking the worst of it. Also, feed the kitty. 2) Call any bet.

Feed the Pot [Poker] Bet or call foolishly, or knowing that one is taking the worst of it. Also, feed the kitty.

Feeding [Ice Hockey] Passing the puck.

Feeler [Poker] A small bet made to see if anyone will raise or to determine who will just call.

Feeler Bet [Poker] A small bet made to see if anyone will raise or to determine who will just call.

Fees [Horse Racing] Amount paid to rider or the cost of nominating, entering or starting a horse in a stakes race.

Feet [Sailing] More than one foot. A foot is a unit of measurement used primarily in the United States. 1 foot equals 30.48 centimeters.

Feint [Fencing] An attack into one line with the intention of switching to another line before the attack is completed.

Felt [Poker] 1) The surface of most poker tables is made of some sort of felt, or is in any case referred to as such. 2) A player who is running out of chips rapidly can be referred to as "down to the felt."