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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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billiards
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Game using a cue to strike a ball on a cushioned table. By the 16C it had emerged from obscure origins to become a fashionable court pastime in France and Britain (Mary Queen of Scots in captivity complained of being deprived of her billiard table). The game developed differently in the two countries, the French game (carom billiards) using a table without pockets. The English version, with six pockets, became the more widespread (particularly in the form known as pool, popular in the USA, involving 15 numbered balls and the cue ball). The traditional English game, using two white balls and one red, had a national champion from the early 19C (Jonathan Kentfield held the title 1825–49).
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