crouched

a. 1. Having a crotch; forked. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Cross; peevish. [ Prov. Eng. ] Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Billiards) Lying within a crotch; -- said of the object balls in the three-ball carom game whenever the centers of both lie within a 41/2-inch square at a corner of the table, in which case but three counts are allowed unless one or both balls be forced out of the crotch. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]