spare
SPAIR
/spɛər/
The act of knocking down all remaining pins with the second ball of a frame.
A spare is marked with a diagonal slash (/) on the scorecard and adds the score of the next single roll to the ten points of the current frame.
The story behind the word. The word 'spare' comes from the Old English 'sparian', meaning to save or show mercy. In bowling, a spare 'saves' the frame from being 'open' (incomplete), preserving the bowler's chance for a high cumulative score.
Word relationships
- cleanup: 'Cleanup' is a casual term for clearing pins, while 'spare' is the official technical scoring term.
- open frame: An open frame means the bowler failed to knock down all pins with both rolls, whereas a spare means they succeeded.
Commonly confused with
- strike: A strike requires only one roll to clear the pins; a spare requires two.
Word family
- spared (verb): past tense of spare
- spares (noun): plural form of spare
Collocations
- pick up a spare
- convert a spare
- easy spare
Idioms & expressions
- spare no expense
- spare change
Example sentences
- "After leaving the ten-pin standing on his first roll, he made a precise adjustment to pick up the spare." Recovering from a difficult first throw
Memory hook
You 'spare' yourself from a bad score by clearing the remaining pins. Saving the frame.
When not to use
Do not use 'spare' if all pins were knocked down on the first roll; that is a 'strike'.
Fun facts
- The ability to consistently convert spares is often considered more important for a bowler's average than throwing occasional strikes.
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