Why is snooker called snooker?

In the 1870s, billiards was a popular pastime amongst British army officers stationed in India. They invented different versions of the game by gradually adding more coloured balls to the table.

At the time, the term “snooker” was a slang name for a first year cadet or an inexperienced person. The story goes that in 1875 a colonel and a first year cadet were playing pool in Jabalpur in India. When the cadet missed his shot, the colonel called his opponent a “snooker”. As this was a newly invented game, many of the officers missed shots and were branded “snookers” – after a while the name snooker was adopted for the game they were playing.

The first official rules were introduced in 1900 by The Billiards Association.