Whitewash - Billiard Term Definition

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Definition of Whitewash

Whitewash is a billiards slang term that is a part of Skill Level Terminology.

Whitewash is a term used in snooker for the act of a player to be the victor in every single required frame in a match. This means that the player has essentially shut out the opponent by not allowing them to win a single game. Whitewash is primarily a British term. An example of a whitewash would be when a particular player wins 5 straight games in a best of nine frame. This being said, a 1 game win in a frame of 1 game is not considered a whitewash.

In pool, a whitewash occurs when a player sinks one of each group on the break, then goes on to run the table and pocket the 8 ball leaving the opponent's six balls on the table.

Whitewash - Usage

The frame was a whitewash. Julie won 4 games in a best of 7 games frame.

Whitewash - Origin and History

The term whitewash in a billiard context is said to have been derived from a similar term used in a popular UK card game called patience. The term is primarily British.

Billiards - Whitewash

Title: Whitewash
Author: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)
Published: 11/17/2007 10:58:51 PM
Last Updated: 9/1/2016 7:38:03 AM
Last Updated By: billiardsforum

Whitewash Comments

Marcel Chowdhury from United Kingdom on 9/4/2015 9:49:57 AM
In pool, if a player pots one of each group of balls on a break and then clears up the rest of his group and pots the black ball (leaving his opponent's remaining six balls on the table) - Is this deemed as a white wash?

billiardsforum from Halifax, NS on 9/1/2016 7:39:36 AM
Yes you could call that a whitewash. I added the pocket billiards (pool) context of "white-wash" to the definition above.

Jabu from Johannesburg, Gauteng on 3/16/2018 4:42:26 AM
Is it also deemed a white wash if you pocket 4 balls (2 of each) off the break shot, and then pocket your 5 balls and then the 8 ball to win the game?

Molf from Gauteng, South Africa on 4/22/2019 4:53:42 PM
If you score all your solid balls so that you are only left with the black ball, is that also considered a "whitewash"?

billiardsforum from Halifax, NS on 4/24/2019 5:34:50 AM
@Jabu - Not technically. However, you still might be able to call it a white-wash since the opponent never had a single inning at the table.

@Molf - Same answer as above. The term isn't really used in that way, but informally, it might still make sense if you used it that way, only if you also pocket the 8 ball to win the game in the same inning.

Whitewash is mainly a British term, and is primarily used in Snooker. It's interesting that the last two comments are from South Africa and reference the term whitewash in regards to 8-ball pool.

I think what @Molf is referring to is more commonly referred to as a "break-and-run-out".

Michael Medson from Zambia on 1/24/2021 6:37:06 AM
Let's say the opponent hasn't pocketed any ball. You pocket all 7 object balls and the 8th ball (being a black ball) remains.

Instead of pocketing the black 8-ball ball, you just scratch it with a cue ball.

Is that a "white wash" also?

billiardsforum from Halifax, NS on 1/26/2021 5:48:48 AM
@Michael Medson - As far as I know, this would not be a whitewash, as you failed to legally pocket the 8 ball.

John in SA from South Africa on 5/18/2023 12:58:49 PM
If you pocket the 8 ball from a break shot, is that still considered a whitewash?

billiardsforum from Halifax, NS on 5/30/2023 7:31:28 PM
@John in SA - No, that would not be considered a whitewash. I don't see how it could be one.

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