Glossary of Curling - L

L

Lazy handle

When the rotation of a stone is very slow, i.e., less than one full rotation during the stone's slide; often the result of thrower error, they will usually curl more than a properly delivered stone; may turn into a No Handle or Reverse Handle

Lead

The player who throws the first two rocks for a team

Lie / Lies / Lying

The count of the number of stones of one colour closest to the centre of the button, closer than the innermost stone of the other colour. When a team "lies X" or "is lying X", that number of its stones are, at that moment, closer to the button than any opposition stone; were the end to finish then, the team would score that number of points.

Line

The path of a moving stone; a 'good' line indicates it is headed where it was intended to go; a 'bad' line has deviated

Light

A stone that is not thrown hard enough

Little rocks

Many clubs offer a Little Rocks program for children, with rocks that are roughly half the weight of regular 44 lb. rocks. Curlers generally move onto full-sized rocks around the ages of 10 to 12.

Losing the handle

A rock that is "losing the handle" refers to a rock which loses its rotation or which reverses its rotation while moving

Lost turn

Synonymous with no handle

LSFE

Last Stone in the First End; in every other end, the last stone (or hammer) is determined by the scoring in the previous end. In the first end, some other system (coin toss, draw contest, record comparison) must be used to determine the advantage of the hammer.