Definition

Noun: 1. A historical game: A game, popular from the 15th to the 19th centuries, in which players slide large coins or flat disks down a long, smooth table or court, aiming to get them as close as possible to a marked scoring area without going over the edge. 2. The equipment for the game: The long, smooth table or marked surface on which the game of shovelboard is played.

Usage and Examples

• Referring to the game:
  • In Tudor England, shovelboard was a popular tavern game.
  • They spent the afternoon playing a round of shovelboard on the long oak table.
• Referring to the playing surface:
  • The old inn still had its original shovelboard along one wall.

Advanced Usage and Notes

• Historical Context: Shovelboard is considered a precursor to modern games like shuffleboard and deck quoits. The name comes from the action of "shoving" the disk.
• "Shove groat": An older, synonymous term for shovelboard, as a "groat" (a coin) was often used as the playing piece.
• Court vs. Table: Originally played on a long court (up to 30 feet) on the floor, it later evolved to be played on narrower tables.

Variants and Related Words

• Shuffleboard (n): The modern descendant of shovelboard, typically played on a deck or a dedicated court with cues to push the disks.
• Shove (v): To push something roughly, which is the core action in the game.
• Shovelboard penny (n): A specific, large coin or token used for playing the game.

Synonyms

• Shove groat (n, historical): An older name for the same game.
• Slide-thrift (n, historical/regional): Another historical name for a similar game.

Idioms and Phrases

(No common modern idioms are directly derived from "shovelboard" due to its status as an archaic game. The term itself is largely historical.)

Noun

1. a game in which players use long sticks to shove wooden disks onto the scoring area marked on a smooth surface