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View synonyms for behind the eight ball

behind the eight ball

  1. A term, referring to the game of pool, meaning in an unfavorable or uncomfortable position: “After his unkind remarks were repeated to the boss, Gary really ended up behind the eight ball.”


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Idioms and Phrases

In trouble or an awkward position, out of luck, as in His check bounced, leaving Jim behind the eight ball with his landlord . The term comes from pocket billiards or pool, where in certain games if the number eight ball is between the “cue ball” and “object ball” the player cannot make a straight shot. [ Colloquial ; c. 1920]
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Example Sentences

County is “behind the eight ball on that.”

“Nobody wants to be behind the eight ball,” said Daisy Stall, head of entertainment finance at California Bank & Trust.

Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said retaining an income tax with multiple rates would keep Kansas “behind the eight ball” economically.

“Brandon always gets off to a fast start and gets us behind the eight ball every game. I just thought offensively we didn’t get into a good rhythm. I thought we had a nasty flow all night,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

“I thought the crowd played a big role in getting us on our toes early. We could have scored a few more goals in the second period but we got a little bit behind the eight ball with penalties,” he said.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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