Badminton Glossary

Alley - extension of the court by 1-1/2 feet on both sides for doubles play
Back Alley- Area between the back boundary line and the long service line for doubles.
Backcourt- Back third of the court, in the area of the back boundary lines.
Balk (Feint)- Any deceptive movement that disconcerts an opponent before or during the service.
Baseline- Back boundary line at each end of the court, parallel to the net.
Carry- An illegal tactic, also called a sling or a throw, in which the shuttle is caught and held on the racquet and then slung during the execution of a stroke.
Center or Base Position- Location in the center of the court to which a singles player tries to return after each shot.
Center Line- Line perpendicular to the net that separates the left and right service courts.
Clear- A shot hit deep to the opponents back boundary line. The high clear is a defensive shot, while the flatter attacking clear is used offensively.
Court- Area of play, as defined by the outer boundary lines.
Drive- A fast and low shot that makes a horizontal flight over the net.
Drop- A shot hit softly and with finesse to fall rapidly and close to the net on the opponent's side.
Fault- A violation of the playing rules, either in serving, receiving, or during play.
Feint (Balk)- Any deceptive movement that disconcerts an opponent before or during the service.
Flick- A quick wrist and forearm rotation that surprises an opponent by changing an apparently soft shot into a faster passing one; used primarily on the serve and at the net.
Forecourt- Front third of the court, between the net and the short service line.
Hairpin Net Shot- Shot made from below and very close to the net with the shuttle rising, just clearing the net, and then dropping sharply down the other side. The shuttle's flight approximates the shape of a hairpin.
Halfcourt Shot- A shot hit low and to midcourt, used effectively in doubles against the up-and-back formation.
Kill- fast downward shot that cannot be returned; a "putaway".
Let- A legitimate cessation of play to allow a rally to be replayed.
Long Service Line- In singles, the back boundary line. In doubles a line 2-1/2 feet inside the back boundary line. The serve may not go past this line.
Match- A series of games to determine a winner.
Midcourt- The middle third of the court, halfway between the net and the back boundary line.
Net Shot- Shot hit from the forecourt that just clears the net and then falls rapidly.
Push Shot- Gentle shot played by pushing the shuttle with little wrist motion, usually from the net or midcourt to the opponent's midcourt.
Racquet (Racket)- Instrument used by the player to hit the shuttlecock. Weight about 90 grams (3 oz). Length 680 mm (27 in). Made from metal alloys (steel/aluminum) or from ceramic, graphite or boron composites. Generally strung with synthetic strings or natural gut.
Rally- Exchange of shots while the shuttle is in play.
Serve (Service)- Stroke used to put the shuttlecock into play at the start of a rally.
Service Court- Area into which the serve must be delivered. Different for singles and doubles play.
Short Service Line- The line 6-1/2 feet from the net which a serve must reach to be legal.
Shuttlecock (Shuttle)- Official name for the object that the players must hit. Composed of 16 goose feathers attached to a cork base covered with leather. Synthetic shuttles are also used by some.
Smash- Hard-hit overhead shot that forces the shuttle sharply downward. Badminton's primary attacking stroke.
Wood Shot- Shot that results when the base of the shuttle is hit by the frame of the racket. Once illegal, this shot was ruled acceptable by the International Badminton Federation in 1963.
Alley - where badminton was played before legalization in 1873.
Ankle - Dutch word for single. Also: vital part of the lower leg that can start to hurt like hell at any given moment (when you 'sprain' it), so that you have to keep your leg up into the air for weeks and have yourself regularly palpated by some creep of a physiotherapist.
Australian doubles - When you face two opponents all alone because your partner is "down under" from one too many Fosters.
Backhand - Your typical badminton player has, besides a left hand and a right hand, a backhand and a forehand as well. With righthanded players the backhand is on the lefthand side and with lefthanded players vice versa (with one-armed players the backhand is on the stump side by definition). Backhand is very difficult.
Back service line - the short line at the back of the doubles service court, which is irrelevant after the serve and in singles - that is, an incomprehensible device, much like hockey's "blue line."
Badminton - Named after Lord Edward `bad' Minton (1817-1926), Attorney General in British India; Pitiful forehand the chap had. The tale that Badminton would be the name of the estate of the Duke of Beaufort in England, where the game is supposedly played for the first time, shouldn't be taken seriously.
Ball - Is only used with badminton in the expression: `good ball!'. Quality in a shuttle will usually be described with: `nice shuttle'.
Clear - High stroke from one end of the field to the other. Isn't very easy altogether. Boys are usually better at it than girls, let that be clear.
Condition - The opposite of poor stamina. Cannot be purchased and can only be obtained by tenaciously running rounds, doing pushups and working out.
Drive - Nice song from The Cars, from the LP Heartbeat City of 1986. Also: hard, flat stroke.
Drop - When you drop the shuttle, be sure it's on the other side of the net. You may apologize to your opponent about it, and ask him to pick it up and return it to you. There you have a point!
Doubles service rules - if you have to ask, play singles.
Even service court - for twilight play.
Finish - Badminton is war. He who has trouble finishing his opponent is better off playing the game of goose.
Flick service - Clever, fast, dexterous - or unexpected, unsporting, mean *service (depending on if it's you or your opponent being able to perform one)
Forehand - Just about the opposite of *backhand.
Gut - the best place to hit your opponent with a stone-hard *smash.
Hairpin Drop - generally occurs only in Laidies' games.
Iron - Exclusively used as an exclamation (`Shit! Iron!') when the *shuttle is being hit innacurately. Stems from the long gone past when *rackets weren't usually made out of carbon fibre reinforced polycyclical autoclave processed thermosetting composites, but out of iron and wood.
Ladies' doubles - With badminton all women and girls suddenly are being called 'ladies' (while everyone knows that a proper lady will never be running and jumping on a playing-field like a fool). In doubles there are two of them.
Let - what you must do when you can't afford your own court.
Lob(e) - Part of the brain where the badminton centre is located.
Men's doubles - Ladies' doubles, but with men (or boys). Why men aren't properly being called 'gentlemen' in badminton remains unclear. Is it because a gentleman will walk but never run?
Mix - Each game with four participants that isn't a *ladies' doubles or a *men's doubles. Is usually preceded by the invitation: 'Wanna mix?'.
Odd service court - Reserved for eccentric (that is, English) players.
Overhead - Even more difficult than *backhand.
Overhead-forehand-clear - Is really, really difficult, especially to pronounce.
Racket - Literally: loud noise. Try and hit a cymbal, shop window or football support with it and you'll see why this is.
Rally - Exchange of strokes. Probably came into use after the notorious fight during the 24-hours men's doubles in Monte Carlo (1917).
Service - Be nice to your opponent once in a while. Pick the *shuttle from the floor after you've won a *rally and pass it to him. He may do anything with it that he wants - except returning it of course.
Service court - place of judicial proceedings against rude badminton players; presided over by Justice Learned Backhand.
Setting - Just when you thought the counting system of badminton was a masterpiece of simplicity, you get situations that seem like tennis!
Shuttle - To and fro, it keeps going to and fro. Obviously named after the unwearying American spacecraft.
Side-by-side - System at which the players have sworn to stand by each other and to each defend their own territory.
Single - Nice unattached man or woman seeks other nice unattached man or women for a good bit of...
Smash - Stone-hard blow with no subtlety whatsoever.
Up-and-back - spontaneous do-see-do during a badminton game to confuse your opponents (see *side-by-side).
Warning - Some of the above terms aren't real badminton words at all. Sorry.
Wood - See Iron
http://www.worldbadminton.com/glossary_fun.html