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What Does The Smily " [8](eightball) Mean?


rjt

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He means this image. icon_smile_8ball.gif

I supposed it would be used to idicate having bad luck (i.e., being behind the eightball).

M................., why "8"?, not "6" or other numbers? (I know not "7", "7" means lucky..............)

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He means this image. icon_smile_8ball.gif

I supposed it would be used to idicate having bad luck (i.e., being behind the eightball).

M................., why "8"?, not "6" or other numbers? (I know not "7", "7" means lucky..............)

In the Billiard game "Eight Ball", a player loses if they hit the eight ball in before all of their other balls (either the striped or solid balls).

 

So, the phrase "Behind the eight ball" means that there is a high probability that the outcome of your next action is not going to be a positive one.

 

If your ball is "behind the eight ball" there is a good chance you will hit the eight ball in and lose.

 

Where I come from, we have a similar phrase. It is "Hey Y'all, Watch This!"

 

Usually, this phrase is followed by a speedy trip to the emergency room, or the funeral home.

 

HTH

Edited by Langner91
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the phrase originated from the game of pool, but Charles Earle Funke, author of Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions, claims the phrase derived from a specific type of pool -- namely Kelly pool. The rules of Kelly pool required players to pocket fifteen balls, except the number eight, in numerical order. The eight ball was considered unlucky and if a player hit or touched the eight ball with the cue ball, he or she was penalized.

 

Mr Funke goes on to say: "Thus, if during the play, the cue ball comes to rest on such a spot that the eight ball lies between the next ball to be played, the player may be faced with an impossible shot ... it is easy to see that 'behind the eight ball' would come to mean a hazardous position."

 

However, as in all things etymological divining word origination is not always that simple. Some theories suggest that the rules for Kelly pool were a later development in response to the already commonly used phrase "behind the eight ball."

 

Ain't google wonderful.....

 

As always your friendly neighborhood Marmetion

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Where I come from, we have a similar phrase. It is "Hey Y'all, Watch This!"

 

Usually, this phrase is followed by a speedy trip to the emergency room, or the funeral home.

I love it . LOL...

You might be a Redneck if: The last words out of your mouth were " Hey Y'all watch this" .

I love this Redneck joke . I have heard SO many people say that and end up hurt or in the Hospital ,no-one Killed yet Thank god. :o

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