Mulligan
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A mulligan is a shot retaken in golf, due to a player's poor skill or general incompetence. Mulligans are strictly prohibited in the official rules of the game, but are commonplace in social golf. (Note that the rules of golf allow a repeat shot, but only if the first shot, the repeat shot, and a penalty point are counted).
The term has found a broader acceptance in both general speech and other games, meaning any minor blunder which is allowed to pass unnoticed or without consequence. In both senses, it is implied that a mulligan is forgiven because it was either made by rank beginner, or it is unusual and not indicative of the level of play or conduct expected of the person who made the mulligan. The phrase, "That's your mulligan" is often an implication that a person is forgiven for an error that may not be easily forgiven if repeated. In other games, a player may sometimes mulligan a given move or turn and re-do that move.
There are many theories about the origin of the term. The United States Golf Association (USGA) cites three different stories explaining that the term derived from the name of a Canadian golfer, David Mulligan, who played at St. Lambert in Montreal during the 1920s. One version has it that one day after hitting a poor tee shot, Mr. Mulligan re-teed and shot again. He called it a "correction shot," but his friends thought it more fitting to name the practice after him. A second version has the extra shot given to Mulligan due to his being jumpy and shaky after a difficult drive to the course. The final version of the David Mulligan story gives him an extra shot after having overslept, rushing to get ready to make the tee time.
An alternate, later etymology credits a different man named Mulligan — John A. "Buddy" Mulligan, a locker room attendant at Essex Fells, New Jersey. In the 1930s, he was known to replay shots.
According to the USGA, the term first achieved widespread use in the 1940's.
In the collectible card game Magic: the Gathering, a player who is dissatisfied with his or her initial hand for any reason may mulligan by reshuffling his or her deck and drawing a new hand with one card fewer. The same option is then offered again. Unlike in golf, this is both a legal action and the official terminology. This rule replaced a more complex mulligan rule that allowed a player to draw the same number of cards as before but only if the first hand met certain criteria.no:Mulligan sv:Mulligan