Skip to main content
bald as a billiard ball

bald as a billiard ball

7.2
Having no hair on the head
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : calvo como una bola de billar
  • The old professor was bald as a billiard ball, which made him easily recognizable on campus.

Examples

  • Kids joked that their father was bald as a billiard ball after his annual summer shave.

  • After chemotherapy, he was bald as a billiard ball and wore hats to keep warm.

  • He is bald as a billiard ball!

  • Look at his head; it's bald as a billiard ball.

  • After years of struggling with hair loss, he finally embraced being bald as a billiard ball.

  • The comedian joked that he was bald as a billiard ball, making everyone laugh with his playful attitude.

  • She decided to shave her head completely, and now she is bald as a billiard ball.

Synonyms

bald
vsbald as a billiard ball
280 1.0

Having little or no hair on the head

is specifically about complete lack of head hair
hairless
vsbald as a billiard ball
26 1.7

Having no fur or small threads that grow on the skin

is limited to total lack of hair on the head
bald-headed
vsbald as a billiard ball
9 3.0

Having little or no hair on the top of the head

specifies total lack of hair rather than mere thinness
depilous
vsbald as a billiard ball
  • Specialized
9.9

Having no hair on the body

is the everyday expression for total lack of hair
nonhairy
vsbald as a billiard ball
5.8

A part of the body that has no hair

focuses specifically on absolute absence of head hair
bald-pated
vsbald as a billiard ball
  • Archaic
9.1

Having little or no hair on the top of the head

means complete absence rather than just reduced hair
baldpated
vsbald as a billiard ball
  • Archaic
9.5

A person with no hair on their head

indicates total baldness rather than partial thinning
follicly challenged
vsbald as a billiard ball
  • Informal
9.1

Having little or no hair on the head

uses a plain literal wording to state total hair absence

Antonyms

134 1.0

Having a lot of hair on the body or surface

How Bald

bald as a billiard ball
  • Archaic
7.2
bald
280 1.0
balding
1 2.7
hairy
134 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

bald + as + a + billiard + ball

This is a straightforward simile: combining 'bald' with a comparison to a 'billiard ball' (a smooth, hairless ball) directly conveys complete lack of hair. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words can derive the meaning because the comparison is compositional and based on visible physical properties, a common and predictable figurative pattern.

Etymology

Bald as a billiard ball comes from the shiny, smooth look of a billiard ball, a round, glossy ball used in pool games that looks like a hairless head. So people use it to mean 'completely bald'.