eight ball

noun

1. (in pool) the black ball, marked with the number eight

2. in a difficult situation; snookered

Example Sentences

Remarkably, he took only eight runs from his first eight balls before flogging Singh Dale over the leg side for his first three boundaries.

From BBC

New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner capitalised by hitting Michael Bracewell's spin for a six and a four but then was caught at mid-on off Archer with eight balls to go.

From BBC

"The Hundred doesn't have six balls in every over. So why couldn't Test cricket have three sessions of 25 overs and eight balls for example?"

From BBC

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

From Salon

“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.”

From Los Angeles Times