Suppose I am at the T, and right handed. If I lift it to the top left, is that cross court? (is it cross court based on going across my body?) And if so then what is lifting it to the top left called? Are neither of the lifts cross court (when at the T)? Or(and I guess this is more likely) is it to do with where the shuttle is(like where the contact point is along the axis parallel with the net), and whether the shuttle travels > half the width of the court, across the court.. So if the shuttle is at the centre line then either lifting top left or top right isn't cross court (and isn't straight either)..
I would add that although true mathematically, tactically, there is a difference in singles and doubles. In singles, there is no difference in a lift to either corner. In doubles, the corner that you lift to where your partner would have to cover a straight smash would normally be deemed 'crosscourt'. This might just be how the language is used in the circles I frequent though - if the shuttle would land on the T and my partner asks me to lift it crosscourt more, I would expect that to mean lift it such that he receives more of the smashes, as I would then be taking a crosscourt smash.
That then ties into a question then of which side to move to. Because whether the partner would receive a cross court smash(smash coming from diagonally opposite them passing the centre line), would depend on which side the guy lifting from the T moves to, and which side the lifter-from-T moves to, depends(so they say), on whether he lifted it straight or cross court.. So it looks like it might be a bit circular(as in it looks like it might be a circular definition) , though i'm not sure.. I suppose, if I lift it and I move cross court relative to where I am hitting the shuttle -to-, such that I take the cross court, then it's lifting cross court.. does which side you move to, depend on whether you lifted straight or cc? If you lift cc then by definition your partner takes the straight, you take the cc.. So if it's by definition that lifting cc means your partner takes the straight, you take the cc, then why is it said "For cross lift, move back straight" Isn't that by definition? It's interesting.. So, if that's so, then When hit -from- away from the centre line(i.e. when not hit from near the centre line).. CC means that greater 0.5*width shot(along the adjacent). And the person that hit it there should take the CC smash from the opponent. it seems that when there's that ambiguity, so when hit from near the centre line, then which side I MOVE to, determines whether it was CC or straight.. So a statement like "For cross lift, move back straight" only applies when away from the centre line. When at the centre line, whether you(are said to have) hit it cross court or not, is determined by where you move afterwards. There's a strange twist here though, because I have heard another rule which is not so circular, and/or it doesn't name the shot you play based on where you moved to afterwards. and would perhaps cover which side to move to when hitting near the centre line.. though I guess it still names it based on where you move, it states where you move. And the rule I heard, is that if you hit along a diagonal, you move diagonal(i.e. along that same diagonal, approximately, like, to the box of yours that that diagonal is pointing into) . And that's a CC shot. If we go by that, then it's always a cross court when hitting from the centre line..
I have since heard a good answer on this.. It is ambiguous whether you call it cross court or not. So, i.e. the definition of cross court is the mathematical one. And you would normally move to take the CC smash, so approximately following the line of the lift Like moving to the box that line points to. .
