eight ball
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| eight ball | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (in pool) the black ball, marked with the number eight |
| 2. | behind the eight ball in a difficult situation; snookered |
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| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
eight ball
popular American pocket-billiards game in which 15 balls numbered consecutively and a white cue ball are used. Those numbered 1-7 are solid colours; 9-15 are white with a single thick stripe in varying colours; and the eight ball is black. To begin, the balls are racked in a pyramid with the eight ball in the centre. One player or a side plays numbers 1-7, while the other plays 9-15; but choice of group is not made until a ball is legally pocketed. Once a side has pocketed all of its group, that side tries to pocket the eight ball and thus win the game. Should a player pocket the eight ball before all of his group is sunk, or misplay the eight ball (as by playing it into a pocket other than the pocket designated before the shot), that player loses.
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