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P

P [Motor Sports] Prototype - Fastest class in sports car racing.

P3 [Horse Racing] Third phalanx. See coffin bone.

P21 [Blackjack] A rule whereby you push if the dealer has a natural and you have 21 in three or more cards.

P&G [Motor Sports] Basically, the procedure for checking the cubic-inch displacement of an engine. The term comes from the manufacturer of the particular gauge used.

P.B.D./C. [Horse Racing] Preferential Barrier Draw On Country Assessment: Indicates the computer shall draw for the lowest Country assessed horse/s progressively up to the highest Country assessed horse/s.

P.B.D./C.a. [Horse Racing] Preferential Barrier Draw On Country Age Assessment: Indicates the computer shall draw for the lowest Country Age assessed horse/s progressively up to the highest Country Age assessed horse/s.

P.B.D./M.a: [Horse Racing] Preferential Barrier Draw On Metropolitan Age Assessment: Indicates the computer shall draw for the lowest Metropolitan Age assessed horse/s progressively up to the highest Metropolitan Age assessed horse/s.

P.B.D./M: [Horse Racing] Preferential Barrier Draw On Metropolitan Age Assessment: Indicates the computer shall draw for the lowest Metropolitan assessed horse/s progressively up the highest Metropolitan assessed horse/s.

P.C. [Roulette] The house edge expressed as a percentage.

P.D. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw: Means that the Barrier Draw for this event shall be effected by Preferential Draw (PD). PD usually means the that the slowest assessed horses may be drawn from the inside to the outside. In all cases horses which are excluded from the draw ODS or ODM, RODS or RODM shall be drawn to the outside.

P.D.a. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw on Age: Indicates the computer shall draw for the youngest age first.

P.D.H.D. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw Handicappers Discretion: Indicates the handicapper will apply a form of barrier draw for the computer to complete.

P.D.L.T.W. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw on Lifetime Wins: Indicates the computer shall draw for the least number of wins first progressively up to the most number of wins.

P.D.S. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw on Sex: Indicates the computer shall draw for fillies and mares first and other horses draw for thereafter.

P.D.T.S.W. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw on this Season's Wins: Indicates the computer shall draw for the least number of wins this season first progressively up to the most number of wins this season.

P.D.T.S.W.$ [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw This Season Win Prizemoney: Indicates the computer shall draw for the lowest Winning prizemoney this season. First progressively up to the highest winning prizemoney this season.

P.D.W.$ [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw Lifetime Win Prizemoney: Indicates the computer shall draw for the lowest Winning prizemoney first progressively up to the highest winning prizemoney.

P.D.W.$ - 2yo$ [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw Lifetime Win Prizemoney - 2YO Win Prizemoney: indicates the computer shall draw the lowest Winning prizemoney minus 2YO Winning prizemoney first progressively up to the highest Winning prizemoney minus 2YO winning prizemoney.

P.D.W.C. [Horse Racing] Preferential Draw Within Conditions: Indicates the computer will ignore 2YO wins in a horse's career when effecting a barrier draw that excludes 2YO wins.

P.R.B.T. [Horse Racing] Pre Race Blood Test: Indicates this horse was subject to a random blood test prior to his/her race.

P/Gs [Baseball] Pitches per Start

P/Ip [Baseball] Pitches per Innings Pitched

Pa [Baseball] (AB + BB + HBP + SF + SH + defensive interference)

Pa Kua [Martial Arts] "Eight trigrams." One of three internal methods of kung fu. It is composed of various circling and linear postures named after and based on the movements of the snake, stork, dragon, hawk, lion, monkey and bear.

Pa* [Baseball] The divisor for On Base Percentage: At Bats plus Walks plus Hit By Pitcher plus Sacrifice Flies; or Plate Appearances minus Sacrifice Hits and Times Reached Base on Defensive Interference.

Pa-Kua (Ba-Gua; Chinese) [Martial Arts] Chinese Martial Art

Pa/So [Baseball] Plate Appearances per Strikeout

Paaf [General] Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation

Pabbf [General] Pakistan Amateur Basketball Federation.

Pace [Poker] The speed of a game, with respect to its action. 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.

Pace Car [Motor Sports] Seen at NASCAR and Indy races, the pace car leads race cars out of the pole position at beginning of races or after a yellow flag or restart has been called.

Pace Lap [Motor Sports] The lap before the official start, on which cars travel in formation, usually behind a pace car, building up speed so they'll be near top speed when they reach the starting line.

Pace Line [Cycling] A group of riders, usually in an echelon, who take turns setting the pace so that the others can draft on the leader.

Pacer [Motor Sports] A driver who travels at pretty much the same speed throughout the race, conserving his car in the hope that those traveling faster will be forced to drop out with mechanical problems.

Pacesetter [Horse Racing] The horse that is running in front (on the lead).

Pachigi [Martial Arts] A Korean martial art in which the head is used to butt an opponent.

Pacing [Horse Racing] Pacing is a 'laterial' gait in which the horse moves the legs on the same side back and forward together. Most pacers wear 'hopples' - straps connecting the legs on the same side. Pacing, or 'ambling', is a natural gait for some breeds of horse (as well as giraffes and camels) and is faster than trotting by roughly 3 seconds per mile. Pacers are also less likely to 'break', so they are more popular with punters than trotters, where the two gaits exist. As a result pacing dominates harness racing in the English-speaking world.

Pack [Blackjack] A reference to the total collection of cards in play. Usually, this is used to refer to more than one deck of cards, with it's most common reference being use to describe a two deck game.

Pack Job [Skydiving] The way a canopy is folded and placed into the container. Also a service performed by specialized packers for hire at some dropzones and boogies.

Package Shelf [Motor Sports] The ledge between the rear seat and the backlight (or rear windshield). The name is misleading because it's a bad idea to put anything on the package shelf. However, it often contains the sound system's rear speakers and, on some vehicles, the CHMSL or center brake light. Sometimes also called the package tray. On European cars the package tray often contains a first-aid kit; on higher-end models it may contain storage compartments.

Packed House [Poker] Full house.

Packed Powder [Skiing] Powder snow that has either settled under its own weight, or compressed into a firm surface.

Packet [Poker] Any portion of a deck of cards.

Pad [Fencing] A soft protective cushion inside the guard.

Pad Eye [Sailing] A small fitting with a hole used to guide a line.

Pad Save [Ice Hockey] A save on which the goalie uses a leg pad to stop or deflect the puck.

Paddle [Table Tennis] The table tennis paddle must be made primarily of wood. There are no restrictions as to size. A legal rubber sheet must be applied to any side used for striking the ball. One side must be black, the other cherry red. If there is a non-hitting side with no rubber sheet attached, it must have a paint sheet of the appropriate color.

Paddock [Horse Racing] Approximately 25 minutes before they race, horses are brought from the barn area to the Paddock. They are led to a row of stalls where they are inspected and identified by track officials, ensuring that the correct horses run in the race. After they have been inspected, the horses are saddled and led to a walking ring where owners, trainers and jockeys await them.

Paddock Area [Motor Sports] The enclosed portion (or infield) of a race track.

Paddock Judge [Horse Racing] In horse racing, the racing official responsible for getting jockeys and horses in order to go to the starting gate; also checks the equipment used by each horse and supervises the saddling of the horses. In greyhound racing, the racing official responsible for supervising the leadouts, identifying greyhounds, and checking muzzles and blankets.

Padling/Paddling [Skiing] The Scandinavian's preferred term for two skating.

Pai Gow Poker Dictionary [Poker] A banking game based on the Asian tile game pai gow, in which players arrange groups of tiles into two hands, which then compete severally each against the two hands played by the banker. In the card version, each player makes a wager, and then receives seven cards, which he arranges into two hands, one consisting of five cards and one of two, with the stipulation that the five-card hand must rank higher than the two-card hand. These hands, after being set (arranged), are then placed in front of the player, and then compete, one at a time, as in a blackjack game, against the banker hand (which can be held by a player or the house). If both player hands beat the dealer hand, the player wins; if both banker hands beat the player hand, the dealer wins; otherwise it is a push. If either hand is exactly the same, that counts as a win for the banker, which gives the banker hand a slight edge. The banker hand competes against player hands in an order determined by the shaking of a number of dice. (This gives the game its alternative name of shake-shake.) This order is important, because if the banker loses his stake prematurely, not all player hands may get to compete. The house makes its money by always extracting a certain fee from every player bet, prior to the actual playing of the hands (and often takes that fee whether or not the hand is even played). Apart from the rankings of the hands being the same as in poker, pai gow poker is not really poker. Also called double hand or double-hand poker.

Pai Shih [Martial Arts] A ceremony for a kung fu novice denoting his acceptance as a disciple.

Paint [Poker] 1) Face card (King, Queen and Jack). 2) Daub (Markings put on cards with paint, ink, or some other fluid.). 3) In lowball, catch a face card (on the draw). "Paired and painted and nearly fainted" means, drawing two (or more cards), a player paired one of his original cards and also caught a face card, and now he's complaining about his luck; such a catch in lowball is the ultimate insult (and should teach the player not to draw more than one card).

Paint Cards [Poker] King, Queen and Jack; face cards; court cards; picture cards.

Paint Sheet [Table Tennis] Not paint at all, but a sheet of colored plastic used to cover the non-hitting side of the paddle.

Painted [Poker] In lowball, having caught a face card (on the draw). "I painted."

Painted Waterline [Sailing] A painted line on the side of a boat at the waterline. The color usually changes above and below the waterline as the boat is painted with special antifouling paint below the waterline.

Painter [Sailing] A line attached to the bow of a dinghy and used to tie it up or tow it.

Painting the Black [Baseball] When a pitcher throws the ball over the edge of the plate.

Paintskin [Poker] 1) Face card (King, Queen and Jack).

Pair [Poker] 1) Two cards of the same rank in the same poker hand (or part of the community cards in hold 'em-type games). "I have a pair of kings." 2) One pair. 3) In various forms of draw poker, to catch a pair, when drawing to some other hand. In high draw, you can draw to a straight or flush and pair, which means you missed the hand. In lowball, you can draw to any hand and pair (which also means you missed). "I was drawing to a bicycle, but I paired.

Pair of Aces in the Wrong Places [Craps] Two.

Pair of Shorts [Poker] In high draw poker, a small pair; often any pair less than jacks; any pair smaller than the opening requirements for the game.

Pair of Sunflowers [Craps] Betting that the next roll will be the total sum of 10 (5&5).

Pair Up [Poker] In lowball, to draw to a hand and pair one of your original cards.

Pair-a-Roses [Craps] Betting that the next roll will be the total sum of 10 (5&5).

Pairings [Golf] Groups of two players.

Pairs [Lotto] Usually a three-digit-number bet that includes only the first two digits, last two digits, and in some cases the first and last digit of a three-digit number. Examples: if 123 is drawn, 12 is the Front Pair, 23 the back pair and 13 the middle or split pair. There are 100 pairs of each type and the odds of seeing any one of them are 1 in 100.

Pak Salto [Gymnastics] A high bar move in which the gymnast releases the bar, does a backward flip, and catches the low bar. Named for North Korean gymnast Gyong Sil Pak, who created it.

Pallas [Poker] The queen of spades.

Pallette [General] The flat paddle used on the baccarat tables to scoop the cards.

Palm [Poker] Perform the cheating maneuver of removing one or more cards from the table (for the purpose of introducing them later) or chips surreptitiously from a pot (that is, steal the chips) by the expedient of covering and concealing them with the hand.

Palm Stock [Poker] Two or more cards, arranged in a specific order, held out by a thief for later introduction into the game.

Palmed Card [Poker] A card that was removed from the table, or introduced into the game later, by a thief, by the expedient of covering and concealing it with his hand.

Palmer [Horse Racing] Back of the front limb from the knee down.

Palming [Basketball] A violation in which a player moves his hand under the ball and scoops it while dribbling. Also: carrying the ball.

Palmok [Martial Arts] Forearm or wrist.

Palooka [Poker] Poor player. In general (no poker) usage, this term has a wider but similar application, referring to an athlete (often a boxer) of limited capabilities, or, even more generally, any inept person

Pan [Poker] 1) Panguingue. 2) Three 3s, 5s, or 7s, or, sometimes, J-Q-K of spades. This usage usually comes up in a lowball game, when one player shows another his unplayable hand, says, "Pan," and then pulls out his three 5s, or other paying pan combination

Pan Pan [Sailing] An urgent message used on a radio regarding the safety of people or property. A PAN PAN message is not used when there is an immediate threat to life or property, instead the MAYDAY call is used. PAN PAN situations may develop into MAYDAY situations. As with a MAYDAY, PAN PAN messages have priority on the radio channels and should not be interrupted. In the case of a less urgent safety message, such as a hazard to navigation, the appropriate signal to use is SECURITE.

Panah [Archery] A bow, Malaysia.

Panel [Horse Racing] A slang term for a furlong.

Panguingue [Poker] A game resembling gin rummy played with eight decks of cards, some of the melds of which are worth payments from active players; pronounced pan-GHEE-nee, and usually shortened to pan. The game is played in many California card rooms and a few Nevada casinos.

Panhard Bar [Motor Sports] In a Stock car rear suspension, a lateral bar that prevents the axle from moving left or right. It is generally attached to the end of the axle housing on the left, and to a frame bracket on the right.(Also referred to as a track bar)

Pankration [Martial Arts] "Game of all powers." An early Greek sport developed as a combination of earlier native forms of boxing and wrestling.

Papegay [Archery] See Popinjay.

Paper [Poker] 1) Cards. "Nice paper" (used only as a spoken expression, often sarcastic) means "Good hand." (Even though most card rooms use plastic decks, players rarely say "Nice plastic.") 2) Marked cards. 3) Bad checks. Passing paper means writing bad checks

Paper Hanger [Poker] One who deliberately writes and passes bad checks.

Paper Work [Poker] Marked cards.

Paper Worker [Poker] A cheat who uses marked cards.

Papers [Poker] Marked cards.

Papers of Origin [Motor Sports] Manufacturer documents used to obtain vehicle titles.

Papuren [Martial Arts] (Japanese) Also called Paipuren or Happoren. Papuren is a Kata of the Bai-He-Quan. Novadays known in many Karate styles.

Par [Golf] The number of strokes, designated for each hole, that represents a standard of good performance. The par figures for individual holes are added up to represent par for a course. Par is generally based on the length of a hole from the tee to the green, although adjustments may be made for configuration of the ground, severity of hazards, and other difficult or unusual conditions. See the following entries.

Par 3 [Golf] A par 3 hole is up to 250 yards in length for men, 210 yards for women.

Par 4 [Golf] A par 4 hole is 250 to 471 yards in length for men, 211 to 400 yards for women.

Par 5 [Golf] A par 5 hole is more than 470 yards in length for men, more than 401 yards for women.

Par Competition [Golf] A game in which play is against a fixed score for each hole (called the par or bogey). Scoring is as in match play with plus 1 if the player scores better than par, equal if he scores par and minus 1 if more than par. The player with the highest aggregate score is the winner.

Par Terre [Wrestling] A re-starting position in which a wrestler is on the mat, on hands and knees, and the other wrestler kneels beside him, with both hands on his back. (French for "on the ground.")

Parachute [Sailing] Sometimes used to describe a spinnaker.

Parachute Flare [Sailing] An emergency signal flare that will float down on a parachute after launch, hopefully improving its visibility.

Parachutist [Skydiving] A person who uses a parachute. A Parachutist is not necessarily a Skydiver. A Skydiver is only a Parachutist because they have to be. Note for non-jumpers: do not call a Skydiver a Parachutist and don't ask them about 'their Parachuting'.

Parade Lap [Motor Sports] A lap taken by cars at slow speed, before the pace lap, to give spectators a good view of them.

Parade Lap(s) [Motor Sports] The warm-up lap before a race. Drivers use this lap to warm up their engines and often zig-zag to warm up tires.

Parallax Error [Sailing] Error that can be introduced when not reading an instrument directly from its front, due to the separation of the indicator and the scale being read.

Parallel Bars [Gymnastics] 1) A piece of apparatus consisting of two bars, each 195 centimeters high and 350 centimeters long, and positioned 42 to 52 centimeters apart. 2) A men's event performed on the apparatus. A routine is made up mostly of swing and flight elements, including at least one release move, which includes a release and a re-grasp.

Parallel Oxer [Equestrian Sports] An obstacle that has front and back rails of equal height, set wide apart to produce a spread.

Parallel Rules [Sailing] A navigational tool used to move a line on a chart from one location to another without changing its angle, such as when moving a plotted course to a compass rose. Parallel rules are two straight edges that are mechanically connected such that both edges always remain parallel. Lines can then be "walked" across a flat chart.

Parallel Tip Section [Golf] Section of shaft toward the tip that exhibits one constant diameter up to the first step.

Parallel Tip Shaft [Golf] The type of shaft construction in which the shaft has one constant diameter in its tip section. .370” is a common tip size for parallel tip iron shafts, while .335” is common for wood shafts. Parallel tip shafts can often be used in any club in a set; the same shaft can be used to assemble a #1 iron or an SW. Parallel tip shafts are favored by clubmakers, although a number of OEM’s use them as well.

Parallel Turn [Skiing] A turn in which the skis are kept parallel to each other.

Parallel Turning [Skiing] Turning with the skis remaining parallel throughout each turn.

Parallels [Sailing] Latitude lines.

Parcel [Sailing] Material wrapped around a line to prevent chaffing.

Pari Mutuel [Greyhound Racing] See totalisator.

Pari-Mutuel [Greyhound Racing] Wagering Taken from the French term meaning "betting between ourselves," wagering in which winnings are taken from the total amount of money. The system insures that you never wager "against the track" but only against other players. The track acts as your agent and collects a percentage as fixed by Rhode Island law. This form of wagering offers better odds of winning. Approximately 80% of all wagered money is returned to the public in the form of winnings. The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulations, Division of Racing & Athletics has adopted a comprehensive set of rules regarding each different type of wagering pool.

Pari-Mutuel Wagering [Greyhound Racing] Taken from the French term meaning "betting between ourselves", wagering in which winnings are taken from the total amount of money. The system insures that you never wager "against the track" but only against other players.

Pari-Mutuels [Horse Racing] A form of wagering that originated in France in which all money bet is divided up among those who have winning tickets, after taxes, takeout and other deductions are made.

Parimutuel [Horse Racing] A form of wagering that originated in France in which all money bet is divided up among those who have winning tickets, after taxes, takeout and other deductions are made.

Parimutuel(s) [Horse Racing] A form of wagering originated in 1865 by Frenchman Pierre Oller in which all money bet is divided up among those who have winning tickets, after taxes, takeout and other deductions are made. Oller called his system "parier mutuel" meaning "mutual stake" or "betting among ourselves." As this wagering method was adopted in England it became known as "Paris mutuals," and soon after "parimutuels."

Parked Out [Horse Racing] A horse racing on the outside, with at least one horse between it and the inside rail or barrier.

Parking Lot [Motor Sports] After a big crash which takes out a lot of cars, the track looks like a parking lot.

Parkland [Golf] A course laid out in grassland with little rough.

Parlay [Blackjack] 1. This is a reference to increasing the size of one's bet by the amount won on a previous bet. 2. It refers to increasing one's overall bankroll in a session or number of sessions, such as, "He parlayed his $1000 bankroll to $4000 after two months of play."

Parlay Cards [General] Wagers on a minimum of 3 and up to 15 propositions; the more you pick, the higher the payoff.

Parley [Craps] Leaving your winnings in action.

Parroh [Martial Arts] "Return." A Korean command used in formal class to return to a ready stance.

Parrot Beak [Sailing] A clip at the end of a spinnaker pole to hold the guy.

Parrot Mouth [Horse Racing] A horse with an extreme overbite.

Parry [Fencing] A block of the attack, made with the forte of one's own blade; also parade.

Part [Horse Racing] Used by the International Cataloguing Standards Committee to separate races from different countries for sales cataloguing purposes. Races of Part I countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United States, the Hong Kong International Cup and the Japan Cup) are accepted for black-type and graded purposes; races of Part II countries (Belgium, Hong Kong [except Hong Kong International Cup, see above], India, Japan [except Japan Cup, see above], Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Scandinavia, Singapore, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela) are accepted for black-type purposes only, with no grade or group designators; races of Part III countries (all others) are not accepted for cataloguing purposes.

Part of the Building/House [Bowling] Said of the 7 or 10 pin when it remains solidly standing after an apparently perfect hit. Used in a phrase such as, "That pin must be part of the building."

Part Wheel [Horse Racing] Using a key horse or horses in different, but not all possible, exotic wagering combinations. See wheel.

Parti [Bingo] Short for participation bingo, a type of slot bingo or cash bingo where the prize is cash (and depends on the number of players, since it is at least 50% of the money paid in). The most common boards used for parti bingo are inlaid cards and hand-held shutter boards.