A stroke in billiards made by striking the cue ball off center with the cue held nearly vertically, so that the cue ball moves in a curve around one ball before hitting another ball.
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A stroke in billiards and pool made by hitting the cue ball off center with the handle of the cue held high, so as to make the ball move in a curve around another ball before hitting the object ball.
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(billiards) A stroke made with the cue held vertically that puts tremendous spin on the cue ball.
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Origin of masse
French frompast participle ofmasserto make a massé shotfrommassemace (an early form of billiard cue)from Old French clubmace1
From
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Masse Sentence Examples
They were arrested en masse on the night of the 26th of June; their goods were sequestrated, and they themselves deported to Havana, then to Cadiz, Genoa, and eventually Corsica.
On his return he was added to the Committee of Public Safety, which had decreed the arrest en masse of all suspects and the establishment of a revolutionary army, caused the extraordinary criminal tribunal to be named officially "Revolutionary Tribunal" (on the 29th of October 1793), demanded the execution of Marie Antoinette and then attacked Hebert and Danton.
In this year military measures at last succeeded against the Hamawand tribe, which fled en masse to Persian territory.
The disorganization and anarchy in the Turkish empire at the beginning of the 19th century gave the Serbs their opportunity, and the people rose en masse against its oppressors (January 1804).
At Tiberias a little squadron of the brethren of the two Orders went down before Saladin's cavalry in May; at Hattin the levy masse of the kingdom, some 20,000 strong, foolishly marching over a sandy plain under the heat of a July sun, was utterly defeated; and after a fortnight's siege Jerusalem capitulated (October 2nd, 1187).