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Reader question: Please explain “behind the eight ball” in this: “Costs will go up and we will be behind the eight ball again.” My comments: Costs are going up and the company is in financial trouble one more time. In other words, they’re probably going to lose money, i.e. failing to make a profit again. That’s, more or less, what “behind the eight ball” means here. Of course, you have to play the game of pool to understand this, the eight ball version of the game to be exact. In Eight Ball or Eight-Ball pool, two players play 15 balls numbered 1 through 15. As a matter of fact, each player plays seven balls first, with one player owning numbers one through seven while the other nine to fifteen. The eight ball (denoting Ball Number 8, not eighth ball) is played only after a player pockets all the seven balls (knocking them into one of the six side holes, or pockets round the table) is he or she is allowed to hit the eight ball. He/she who is the first to knock down the eight ball wins a game, or frame. In accordance with the rules of the game, players are not allowed to touch the eight ball while aiming to hit one of the other seven balls they’re supposed to hit. Therefore, if they find the white ball, the cue ball, immediately behind the eight ball, they’re in a position of difficulty. In fact, the closer the cue ball is to the eight ball, the greater area of blockage it creates. | 
