The Dispatches
TERMINOLOGYApril 14, 20263 min read

A Ball That Has Bounced Once Is Called a Dillball. We Are Reporting This Factually.

A live ball after one bounce. Named, apparently, after a pickle ingredient. The culinary theme continues.

The EditorsFckPickleball Editorial Staff

A dillball is a pickleball that has bounced once and is therefore live — eligible to be volleyed or hit. It is called a dillball. Dill is an herb used in the preparation of pickles. The ball is called a dillball. The sport is called pickleball. The zone near the net is called the kitchen. The failed shot is called the falafel. The mandatory bounce shot is called the flapjack.

The Complete Culinary Map

We have now fully mapped the culinary ecosystem of pickleball terminology, and we want to present it to you in its entirety: The kitchen is where you cannot volley. The pickle is what you are if you lose 11-0. The falafel is the shot that dies. The flapjack is the shot that must bounce. The dillball is the ball after it has bounced. The cookie jar is the open space your opponent left unguarded.

"Pickleball is, in its vocabulary, a sport that takes place in a kitchen, involves pickles, falafels, flapjacks, dill, and cookies, and is played by people who shout "Pickle!" before the first serve."

We are not inventing this. We are reporting it. We want that to be clear.

Filed under: TERMINOLOGY

FckPickleball Editorial Staff

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