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eightball

[ eyt-bawl ]

noun

  1. Pool.
    1. a black ball marked with the number eight.
    2. a game in which one player or side must pocket all of either the solid-color balls or the striped ones before being permitted to attempt the pocketing of the eightball, which wins.
  2. Slang. an inept person.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of eightball1

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; eight + ball 1

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. behind the eightball, Informal. in a difficult, disadvantageous, or uncomfortable situation:

    He hasn't studied all term, and now he's behind the eightball.

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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.

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