eight ball
Britishnoun
-
(in pool) the black ball, marked with the number eight
-
in a difficult situation; snookered
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.
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.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2025
A day never passed without me fully aware that we now lived our lives squarely behind the eight ball.
From Salon • May 11, 2025
How can I make sure our financial future isn’t a magic eight ball?
From Slate • Aug. 26, 2023
“I think we’re behind the eight ball on this one,” Mr. Shepherd added.
From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2022
"Who needs a magic eight ball when you have Madame Chocolata?"
From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene
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.
