A strike is a term used in bowling to indicate that all of the pins have been knocked down with the first ball of a frame. On scoresheets, a strike is symbolized by an X.
When all ten pins are completely knocked down with the first ball (called a strike and typically rendered as an "X" on a scoresheet), a player is awarded ten points, plus a bonus of whatever is scored with the next two balls. In this way, the points scored for the two balls after the strike are counted twice.
Strike scoring works similarly for Five-pin bowling, except strikes are worth 15 points rather than 10 (as the pins are scored with the values of 2, 3, 5, 3, and 2).
Two consecutive strikes are referred to as a "double". Three strikes bowled consecutively are known as a "turkey" or "triple". The origin of this dates back to before the turn of the 20th century. During Thanksgiving or Christmas week, the proprietor would present a live turkey to people who scored three consecutive strikes[1]
Any longer string of strikes is referred to by a number affixed to the word "bagger," as in "four-bagger" (four baggers are also known as "hambones")[2] or "five-bagger" (also called yahtzee) for four or five consecutive strikes. This terminology is used most often when a bowler is "off the strikes." (i.e. has previously bowled a string of several strikes but failed to strike on his most recent ball.)
When a player is "on the strikes," a string is often referenced by affixing "in a row" to the number of strikes bowled consecutively. Six strikes in a row are sometimes referred to as a "six pack."[3][4] Six strikes and nine strikes in a row can also be referred to "Wild Turkeys" and "Golden Turkeys" respectively. Any string of strikes starting in the first frame or ending "off the sheet" (where all of a bowler's shots from a certain frame to the end of the game strike) are often referred to as the "front" or "back" strikes, respectively (e.g. the 'front nine' for strikes in frames 1-9, or the 'back six' for strikes in frames 7, 8, and 9 with a turkey in the tenth). A perfect game or 12 strikes in a row is also colloquially referred to in the US as the "Thanksgiving Turkey."
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