In croquet, the term spooning has historically been used to refer to two ways of setting the ball into motion.
This was at one time considered an unfair but good technique, upon appeal the umpire must declare whether the ball was spooned or tapped.
It also involves the dwelling of the mallet on the tapped ball, with the same restrictions as for the roll shot.
A notable case was an official accusation of the British Open champion Lily Gower of spooning in 1901.
[4] In another sense, "spooning" is when the mallet is swung in a wide arc, to generate more power.