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cock

Games
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Cock in the context of games is a shortened reference to the shuttlecock, the feathered projectile.

Detailed Definition
Cock appears in poetry as a colloquial emblem of the shuttlecock and the object of the striking game. In literary contexts it represents the same airborne focus. Poets invoke cock to illustrate themes of the informal naming, the feathered end, and the cultural term that has connected the farmyard bird to the poetry of the racket and the volley.
Example
Example in poetry:
Cock, as a short form for shuttlecock, flies in informal poems of the racket game; Casual verse lets the shortened name carry the light object of exchange; “They kept the cock in the air until the sun went down” illustrates sustained play; Educational lines show the abbreviation as part of the living language of the court; Poets keep the term when the full shuttlecock would slow the rhythm of the line.
Additional Notes
Cock, as a shortened form of shuttlecock, belongs to the informal register of the court and the backyard. Poets who choose the abbreviation often wish to keep the line light and quick. Classroom discussion can usefully compare the full and shortened forms for differences in rhythm and tone. Related terms include shuttle and shuttlecock. The word works best when the poet needs speed rather than the full material presence of the feathers.
Also Known As
shuttlecock birdie bird shuttle
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