Spooning (croquet)

In croquet, spooning may refer to two ways of setting the ball into motion.

Pushing

In one sense, it is an simply pushing the ball with the mallet instead of tapping. It is recognized by making no noise. This is an unfair but good technique, upon appeal the umpire must declare whether the ball was spooned or tapped."Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People" (1883), [http://books.google.com/books?id=W50MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA485&dq=spooning p. 485] ]

There are techniques that involve the pushing of a ball which are not considered "spooning". In rolling croquet, the players and the croqueted balls are driven together in a stroke which starts with a tap and then the mallet is immediately trailed right behind the balls. It is not considered spooning as long as one and only one distinct tap is heard. If the mallet leaves the ball after the tap and returns to the ball, it is considered spooning. The "pass" stroke, which also drives two balls, is used to drive the own ball further than the croqueted one. It also involves the dwelling of the mallet on the tapped ball, with the same restrictions as for the rolling croquet. [ "The Gentleman's Magazine", vol. 225, June-November 1868, [http://books.google.com/books?id=OW7M9IYsm9AC&pg=PA236&vq=spooning&dq=spooning+croquet&lr=&source=gbs_search_s#PPA236,M1 p. 236] ]

In 19th centrury spooning was considered a women's way of cheating in sports, frequently mentioned in sports magazines of the time. A notable case was an official accusation of the English champion Lily Gower of spooning in 1901. [ [http://www.mauicroquetclub.org/history/CheatingGenderRolesAndTheNineteenthCentruyCroquetCraze.pdf "Cheating, Gender Roles, and the Nineteenth-Century Croquet Craze"] , "Journal of Sport History", Volume 25, Number 3, Fall 1998, p. 406]

winging

In another sense, "spooning" is when the mallet is swung in a wide arc, to generate more power. Unlike the first meaning, spooning has been considered fair in a match of gentlemen, but pre-20th century ladies in hoopskirts were in disadvantage lacking the possibility to "spoon" in this way. [Ray Broadus Browne, Lawrence A. Kreiser (2003) "The Civil War and Reconstruction", ISBN 0313313253, [http://books.google.com/books?id=A8tJTAQsPCoC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=spooning+croquet+-wikipedia&source=web&ots=CfrGUUormK&sig=32BcMk9bskZA4KZmFtcJasz4Evc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result p. 92] , with citations from contemporary sources]

References