eightball

[ eyt-bawl ]

noun

1. Pool.
   1. a black ball marked with the number eight.
   2. a game in which one player or side must pocket all of either the solid-color balls or the striped ones before being permitted to attempt the pocketing of the eightball, which wins.
2. Slang. an inept person.

Word History and Origins

Origin of eightball¹

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; eight + ball ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. behind the eightball, Informal. in a difficult, disadvantageous, or uncomfortable situation:

   He hasn't studied all term, and now he's behind the eightball.

Example Sentences

"World Eightball Pool Federation and Ultimate Pool Group remain committed to the development of the sport for all participants and gender inclusivity is an important part of this."

From BBC

When the first issue of Daniel Clowes’ comic book “Eightball” was published in October 1989, Fantagraphics Books printed 3,000 copies, and Clowes was sure it would take about five years to sell them all.

From Los Angeles Times

But they connect it quickly to a chatbot app called Eightball, which seems to encourage its users to pursue self-destruction.

From Los Angeles Times

The person behind both Eightball and the deadly poison/bomb is Kenny, an independent coffee-shop owner with a signature blend called “Black Sublime.”

From Los Angeles Times

He then made it available to kids he found through his Eightball app.

From Los Angeles Times