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.”

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]

Example Sentences

But in a four-run, four-inning start, Gonsolin was derailed by his own physical issue, battling a bloody thumb in a three-run first inning that put the Dodgers behind the eight ball.

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A day never passed without me fully aware that we now lived our lives squarely behind the eight ball.

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“The ideal would be to alert them well before embers actually start falling,” he said, “because once that happens, you know you’re already behind the eight ball.”

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“It has hurt our snowpack by not adding to it. So we’re behind the eight ball throughout the state.”

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County is “behind the eight ball on that.”

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Related Words

• necessitous 
• poor