dirty pool
2
8.2
- noun
- Informal
:
juego sucio
- You're playing dirty pool.
Examples
-
That's dirty pool and you knows it.
-
You playin' dirty pool, Claire.
-
Hey, using your little sister is dirty pool.
-
And this is dirty pool.
-
I think it's dirty pool.
Blog text (16) -
Stainer, that's just dirty pool.
-
The fact that you were asked to submit a piece representing one side of a debate, and then you were beaten and harangued for having a viewpoint, is unbelievably dirty pool.
Blog text (28) -
I wouldn't call it "dirty pool" to bring up the sex abuse scandal in regard to the hierarchy's current moral statements, as the scandal speaks to the credibility of the speakers.
Blog text (16) -
Using underhanded tactics in the game was considered dirty pool by the other players.
-
Many fans criticized the athlete for his dirty pool during the championship match.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Unfair behaviour that breaks accepted rules or standards
Antonyms
16
3.0
Honest behavior that treats everyone the same and follows the rules in sport or competition
How Unfair
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'dirty' directly signals unfair or dishonest behavior, so a learner who knows 'dirty' will suspect a negative sense, but the noun 'pool' (literal water or a fund/game) does not transparently contribute to the idiomatic meaning. Because the overall sense (unsportsmanlike or unethical conduct) is partly inferable from 'dirty' but relies on idiomatic usage of 'pool', it is only partially predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Dirty pool may come from the old game of pool, where a player would make the table or the pockets dirty to stop the balls and win by cheating. So the phrase now means 'unfair' or 'dishonest' behavior.