How It's Used

“‘You’ve got yourself behind the eight ball,’ Judge Lamberth warned Philip Brooks, an attorney representing the Interior Department.”

—no author, “Judge Orders Ex-Official From Interior to Testify,” The Wall Street Journal, January 12, 1999, p. A6.

“What is it about mutual funds Mr. Swensen finds offensive? Just about everything. He hates the way the loads and all the hidden fees mean that the investor is always behind the eight ball.”

—Joseph Nocera, “Pro Tells Why the Little Guy Just Can’t Win,” The New York Times, August 13, 2005.

“Richard Solomon discovered that buying a mint-condition car wouldn’t have been such a bad idea.  The New York artists’ representative was primarily looking for a sharp-looking car when he bought an angular 1977 Lamborghini Countach for $80,000 early last year.  But he was also hoping it would appreciate in value.  The car needed work, and over the next year he spent more than $20,000 to recondition the engine, transmission, brakes and suspension, and he says it would take another $50,000 to get the car into perfect shape.  For now he isn’t spending the money, given that a top-condition model goes for $100,000 at best.  ‘I’m still behind the eight ball,’ he says.”

—Jonathan Welsh, “The New Investment Vehicle,” The Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2005, p. W5.

Links

Related on eAlmanac
Eight Ball
Eight Ball of Cocaine
Magic Eight Ball

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Behind the Eight Ball