eight ball
7
4.4
- noun
- /ˈeɪt bɔl/
:
bola 8
- Eight ball in the corner pocket.
- eight ball pool
Examples
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We'll play eight ball, regular stakes.
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I'm down to my last eight ball.
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Hey, the eight ball, it's missing from the pool table.
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Is that the eight ball?
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All right, eight ball, corner pocket.
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Got the eight ball, corner pocket.
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I'm still behind the eight ball.
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KAREN: Eight ball, corner pocket.
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Eight ball, corner pocket, two cushions.
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After a long game, he finally pocketed the eight ball to win.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from the numeral 'eight' and the noun 'ball', so a learner who knows both words will readily infer it refers to the ball marked number eight. This noun–number combination is a common, cross-linguistic compositional pattern (i.e. ‘the eight ball’ = the ball numbered eight), so the referent is transparent even if game-specific rules about pocketing are separate encyclopedic knowledge.
Etymology
Eight ball comes from the game of pool: it is the black ball marked with the number 8 that players must pocket 'last'. Because that one ball decides who 'wins', the eight ball became a clear image for the final, deciding shot.