What does thems the breaks mean

After all, a billiards player who gets a favorable break is probably going to win the game. Every club has a certain team that makes it as much trouble as the Athletics hand Washington. In contests between such teams, one club always seems able to get the breaks. When a hit is needed, a wallop is always forthcoming. When an error will prove disastrous, some one makes the error. Hey fellow Linguaholics! I am the proud owner of linguaholic. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich.

It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general. And, that sentiment generally holds true in life. The bottom line is that each one of us will take the path most suited to our character. Originally, this proverb is inspired by the game of billiards or pool.

The answer is no. It is of American origin and comes from the game of pool. Improve this answer. John John 4 4 bronze badges. If it's from pool, why is "breaks" plural?

It's always singular in pool. Does this come from an authoritative source? Google Books shows Them's the breaks emerging from That's the breaks [of the game] present in a story by Robert Sheckley in Galaxy. Breaks of the game goes back at least to Billiards: Game, Up , where the game described appears to my ignorance to be what is now called 'English Billiards'. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Related Hot Network Questions. Alberta--TGE te gato English.

It's an American slang but in which state s use s it the most? I've always heard the expression as " That's the breaks", never "Them's" or "Dem's". I agree with lsp that it is not used as much anymore as it was in the past. Nick said:. To be honest, I usually hear among friends : S happens… Another one, guaranteed to be safe: "It is what it is…".

To be honest, I usually hear among friends : S happens…. We use "That's life". Or [shrugging your shoulders]: "Whacha gonna do…". My guess as to the etymology of this phrase is that it comes from the world of pool. But a quick Google turns up at least one site that thinks it comes from the world of surfing.

Does anyone have a better or more interesting guess? Similar to what gaer said "What can you do about it?

Hello all; I would.. In my opinion.. Make a bad break.. We use "Oh well" a lot. It loses something in the writing because there's a certain way to say it. Those of you familiar with its use as a synonym for "them's the breaks" will know what I mean. You could hear Them's the brakes in England too. I think the usage is widespread, though not part of the standard language. Osborne; them's my sentiments. This seems to have begun a literary tradition of using the phrase Them's my sentiments - for example, in EM Foster's A passage to India : We're out here to do justice and keep the peace.