The Music Man - an 'iron-clad leave"?

[tim10086]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:07pm

Hi all,

Can anyone help with this? I'm wondering what an "iron-clad leave" is. Found in these lyrics from TROUBLE in The Music Man: "Jever take and try to give an iron-clad leave to yourself from a three-rail billiard shot?"

Cheers,
Tim

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:24pm

It's iron-clad LEAD, as in setting up your next shot in billiards.

Posted: 4/7/07 at 6:46am

I don't have the score so I can't say for sure, but I think it's "leave" not "lead". When I used to shoot pool we always used the term, "nice leave" sarcastically when someone left you an impossible shot to follow thier turn.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 8:00am

It is indeed "leave", and it refers, as Iago says, to trying to create a situation where your opponent has nowhere to go to make a shot, thus leaving the board to you again. A three-rail shot is one where you try to bounce the cue ball off the three sides of the table in order to make your leave -- arguably one of the toughest things to do in pool or billiards.

[tim10086]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 10:23am

Thanks everyone for your help!

Tim