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behind the eight ball

eight·ball
B b

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [eyt-bawl]
    • /bɪˈhaɪnd stressed ði ˈāt bɔl/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [eyt-bawl]
    • /bɪˈhaɪnd stressed ði ˈāt bɔl/

Definitions of behind the eight ball words

  • noun behind the eight ball in a difficult situation; snookered 3
  • noun behind the eight ball in a very unfavorable position 3
  • noun behind the eight ball Pool. a black ball bearing the number eight. 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. 1
  • noun behind the eight ball Slang. an inept person. 1
  • idioms behind the eight ball behind the eightball, Informal. in a difficult, disadvantageous, or uncomfortable situation: He hasn't studied all term, and now he's behind the eightball. 1
  • adverb behind the eight ball at a disadvantage 1
See all 7 definitions of behind the eight ball

Information block about the term

Origin of behind the eight ball

First appearance:

before 1930
One of the 10% newest English words
An Americanism dating back to 1930-35; eight + ball1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Behind the eight ball

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Behind the eight ball

behind the eight ball popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 42% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 53% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

behind the eight ball usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for behind the eight ball

adj behind the eight ball

  • out on a limb — a part or member of an animal body distinct from the head and trunk, as a leg, arm, or wing: the lower limbs; artificial limbs.
  • in dutch — of, relating to, or characteristic of the natives or inhabitants of the Netherlands or their country or language.
  • in hot water — If you are in hot water, you are in trouble.
All 7 Synonyms of behind the eight ball

See also

Matching words

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