curve ball
Britishnoun
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baseball a ball pitched in a curving path so as to make it more difficult to hit
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informal something deceptive
his wholesome image was a curve ball thrown to deceive the public
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Whatever curve ball is coming — and as sure as night follows day, there will be another — you have to be ready to roll with it.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
After six gruelling hours underwater, Rosemary is nearing the end of her spacewalk test – but then she's thrown a curve ball.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
Even before U.S. markets kick off on Monday, China's ongoing property bust threw another curve ball at stocks markets there.
From Reuters ● Sep. 25, 2023
With an 11th-hour curve ball that would surely make Logan Roy smirk, “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong revealed the drama’s upcoming fourth season will be its last.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
There were no fireworks at all When Adam was a boy; No one could pitch a drop curve ball When Adam was a boy.
From The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 1 March 1906 by Various
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.
