Rub of the Green by Foxymoron

I had always assumed that the expression "Rub of the Green" came from snooker or golf, but a little investigation shows that it is much older. It was first used in the game of bowls. A 'rub' is any hindrance or impediment that diverts the bowl from its proper course. Some of the early 16th century references to rubs are figurative, and so we can assume that the literal term 'rub' was in use before then. Shakespeare alludes to a rub in Richard II, 1593:

Lady: Madame, wee'le play at Bowles.

Queen: 'Twill make me thinke the World is full of Rubs, And that my fortune runnes against the Byas.

Chantal and Ken did not get the rub of the green on the following hand from yesterday's Woodberry Pairs event:

Chantal opened a multi with a good suit. It had one flaw, too many points outside the suit, but this was not the reason for the bad result. North overcalled 2S, natural, and East doubled, which was "Pass or Correct". He wants to compete in hearts if partner has a weak two there. South's redouble probably should be SOS, asking his partner to bid another suit, but it was undiscussed and North passed it. Poor Ken had nowhere to go. He took his chances on trying to beat 2Sxx but all E-W could take was a heart, a club and three trump tricks. -840 and unsurprisingly no matchpoints. Sometimes you just have to take a bad result on the chin.