Glossary of Curling - T

T

Takeout

A rock that hits another rock and removes it from play

Takeout Weight

The weight required when delivering a stone in order to make a takeout

Tap back

Use of the delivery stone to tap another rock towards the back of the house

Tee

The centre point of the house, where the tee line crosses the centre line; the stones' distances from the tee determine the score for each end

Tee line

The line that goes across the house intersecting with the middle of the button, splitting it into two halves

Thick / thin

The degree of contact between two rocks; the thicker the hit, the more contact between the stones; a hit with a small amount of contact is thin.

Third

The player who throws the fifth and sixth rocks for a team; usually also serves as vice-skip

Third shot

The third closest rock to the button

Tick

A shot that bumps a guard out of the way without removing it from play, to avoid violating the Free Guard Zone Rule; usually played with lead rocks late in a game to prevent the trailing team from setting up a steal

Tight

Another term for narrow

Time

At professional levels sweepers use a timer to measure the time between the start of the delivery and the rock hitting the hog line, and will then call out that time as an indicator of the shot's weight. "Time" can also refer to the amount of time left on the game clock

Top 4

The portion of the 4 foot ring in front of the tee line

Top 8

The portion of the 8 foot ring in front of the tee line

Top 12

The portion of the 12 foot ring in front of the tee line

Tournament of Hearts

The Canadian women's curling championship, held annually since 1982; other women's tournaments were held previously

Trick shot

A flashy but low-percentage shot; also Circus shot

Triple

A takeout shot in which three other stones are removed from play

True mixed

An event format where the teams must have two men and two women, played in alternating positions