behind the eight-ball
Meaning
Prepositional phrase
- In a difficult situation or tight spot; at a disadvantage.
Related
Similar words
Origin
- Thought to derive from the game of kelly pool, in which players assigned balls numerically higher than 8 — that is, balls that are behind the 8 ball in order — have little possibility of winning, or from eight-ball pool, where one cannot contact the eight ball on a shot before it is the legal ball, frustrating shots, or more generally, from the fact that the 8 ball is considered harder to aim out because of its color.
Modern English dictionary
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