"English" and "American"

[dr_dave]

I just wanted to share a funny phrase a British buddy of mine uses. When he first came to America and started playing pool, having played only snooker previously, he didn’t like that Americans called sidespin "English" instead of "side" (the term used by snooker players). To get back at us silly Americans, whenever he sees a pool player hitting the ball too hard, he calls it "American" because he thinks many American pool players often use more speed than necessary (especially drunk, macho, cowboy types in bars). Isn’t that special?

Regards,
Dave

[DeadCrab]

There are a bunch of middle aged guys in Viet Nam who are likely in complete agreement.

[Jal]

It's a tad unfair, however appropriate, since "english" isn't a pejorative term. And apparently it never was according to this:

http://www.hickoksports.com/history/billiard.shtml

Jim

[dr_dave]

I've heard conflicting reports about the source of the term "English." Does anybody know if the story in the cited webpage is valid? Maybe somebody can ask Mike Shamos to verify it.

Regards,
Dave
<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Jal:</font><hr> It's a tad unfair, however appropriate, since "english" isn't a pejorative term. And apparently it never was according to this:

http://www.hickoksports.com/history/billiard.shtml

Jim <hr /></blockquote>