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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

Fifty up

English answer:

until a 50 point difference is reached

    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2009-10-27 18:54:06 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Oct 24, 2009 17:13
15 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

Fifty up

English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
"What are you going to do?." said Martyn, with a yawn. "Let's have a swim before dinner."

"'Water's hot. I was at the bath to-day."

"Play you game o' billiards - fifty up."

"It's a hundred and five in the hall now. Sit still and don't be so abominably energetic."


Thank you in advance!
Responses
3 +4 until a 50 point difference is reached
4 +1 first player to reach 50

Responses

+4
13 mins
Selected

until a 50 point difference is reached

i don't know much about billiards but from what i see in google a fifty up billiards game is a very short match.

Bad players, therefore, with good taste might limit their game to fifty up, when other names are down for the table.
The Encyclopaedia of sport & games - Google Books Result

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Note added at 29 mins (2009-10-24 17:42:57 GMT)
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up
8. ahead; in a leading position in a competition: He managed to get up on his opponent by three points.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/up?fromAsk=true&o=100...

the following link is to a book describing the rules to some billiard games played by the British... the main point to take away is that this games where played for points and until fifty-up

http://books.google.com/books?id=00UVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA45&dq=bil...

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Note added at 35 mins (2009-10-24 17:49:00 GMT)
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an alternative is that the game is played until 50 points are reached but I think "fifty up" is more likely referring to one player being up fifty points on the other

by the way the book in the above link is from 1865 which would fit your time period.

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Note added at 36 mins (2009-10-24 17:50:17 GMT)
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page 45

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Note added at 41 mins (2009-10-24 17:55:39 GMT)
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p.s. it does not seem to be a name of a game but rather how it is played, its played ("fifty up"), a characteristic feature, so it seems that it just became a way to refer to the game.
Note from asker:
in which chapter?
Smth. went wrong, I selected your answer.
Peer comment(s):
agree Demi Ebrite : Researching John Roberts, Jr. (15 August 1847 – 23 December 1919) a dominant professional player of English billiards. He was also a notable manufacturer of billiards cues and tables, and promoter of the sport, there is a ref. to the game "Fifty up."
1 hr
thank you
agree Mark Nathan
4 hrs
thank you
agree Polangmar : "the game is played until 50 points are reached"
7 hrs
thank you, i was not completely sure whether it was a 50 point advantage or just first to 50.
agree crossroad
12 hrs
thank you
neutral B D Finch : "Up" doesn't refer to the advantage over the other player; it's achieving that number on the board where the scores are chalked up.// Yes, it depends upon whether it's the player or the game that is 50 up.
20 hrs
it depends on the phrase. If I say "player A is up X points on player B" than it can. this is how I have heard it used. but I admit that it can be interpreted as first to 50.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Great! Thank you Maria!"
+1
3 hrs

first player to reach 50

I know this is post-grading, but the meaning of the billiard links showing this term have been misunderstood. It is not a 50-point lead, it is the first person to reach a score of 50.

Google "play 301-up" for a lot of references to darts - normally paid to 301-up by good players.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Sheila!
Peer comment(s):
agree B D Finch : I don't know about billiards, but as this is right for darts, I reckon it's right for billiards too.
1 hr
Thanks - it's basically for any game where you score points and you fix your own limit, depending on time and ability to score anything
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