This is the business English podcast episode 235 predicament or pickle.
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Hello there, Michelle. How's it going? How's everything?
Hi, good, Lindsay. How are you? I'm feeling great.
I'm happy to be on here. I have a question for you, though.
Oh, okay. So do you like to play pool? I mean, billiards.
Do you like to play pool? Are you a pool player?
I do. I wouldn't say I'm a pool player. I haven't taken lessons.
I'm no expert, but I do enjoy it. If there is the opportunity to play, I like to play.
Actually, growing up, We had in my basement, we had a pool table and we also had then on top of it, we could put pieces to make it a ping pong table.
So we like to play as kids. We would play a lot and I do like to play.
What about you? Yeah, I like to play. I'm not very good at it.
No, I'm not very good. Are you able to hit the ball, like plan it so that you hit another ball, which then goes in?
I'm always just focusing on the one ball.
Am I able to? Maybe a little bit, but I wouldn't say.
It's been a very long time. but I always like doing the chalk, you know, where you put the chalk on it.
That's always fun. It makes you feel really official, you know, like I know what I'm doing here.
I'm going to chalk my stick here, but it sounds like I'm behind the eight ball when it comes to pool compared to you, Michelle.
Wow. I don't know about that. Lindsay, do you say pool or billiards?
I say pool, but I see billiards more in signs. uh like signage if you go into a like a bowling alley might also say we have billiards or something i don't know now they're saying the word it i don't know it sounds such an interesting word to me it's just one of those if you hear it over and over you're thinking billiards billiards yeah i know i wonder why we're even talking about this on business english it's a really good question right i don't know guys so today we are talking about this because we have a great question from a listener about an idiom That deals with pool.
Yes, we have a question from our amazing listener and student Fabiana.
So thank you to Fabiana for sending us this question.
Guys, we love your questions. So send them in to lindsayatallearsenglish.com.
Michelle, I'll go ahead and read it. Are you ready?
All right, let's go for it. All right. So Fabiana says during the meeting today, I heard the expression behind the eight ball.
So I searched for the meeting and I learned that it relates to the game of pool and it means in a in an unfavorable or uncomfortable position.
I'm OK with that now, but I decided to send this to you in case you think it would be worth putting it into an episode.
So she figured out what it means. But we're going to give a little more context for the rest of our listeners in case they do hear it in business.
Right. Absolutely. Um, so yeah, this is, this is a great question.
I'm glad that she brought this to us because this is a good one.
Also, it's very good for business. Um, so we are going to get this, get into this now.
Before we do guys head on over. If you haven't listened yet, listen to episode 202 of the business English podcast.
That is, can you say good when you agree in English?
So that was a good one. Yeah, so let's go straight to the dictionary definition first, from dictionary.com.
What does dictionary.com tell us, Michelle, about this?
Yes, so dictionary.com tells us that it means in trouble or an awkward position, out of luck.
Okay. So, and it says it comes from the pocket billiards or pool.
Okay. Where in certain games, if the number eight ball is between the cue ball and the object ball, the player cannot make a straight shot.
So you're kind of in between these two balls and it's, it's difficult.
So it does come from the game of pool and you know, what's really interesting.
It's funny how these things work out with episode planning, because I planned this episode and then I, A few days later, I went to a birthday party of a friend's kid.
And I was with my friend, Jen. And she said behind the eight ball, I kid you not, probably five times in a row.
That's weird. The energy you put out there, Michelle.
Conjuring up that phrase, I think, in your life.
I know. I mean, over and over because she was talking about something at work.
And she just kept on saying something was behind the eight ball.
And I'm thinking, oh, my gosh. That's weird.
I have to say that. I'm not surprised it happens.
But if you think about in pool what it means, it makes sense in life.
Something is blocking your success, I guess.
Is that what we're saying here? Right. We're not in a great position.
It's uncomfortable. It's awkward, right, as dictionary.com says.
But what's interesting is Guys, it's perfect for business because, for example, my friend was using it many times to talk about work.
So this is a really good one for business English.
So let's do a few examples. Lindsay, what's the first one?
Here's one, we're really behind the eight ball here.
So let's regroup and figure out what our next step should be.
So maybe we didn't like perform well on a campaign.
And so our numbers are behind. This is something that our manager might say, hey, we have a problem here.
We need to get things in gear, right? Yeah, not so great.
Let's say, or another example could be his team was, the team was behind the eight ball because of their inability to work well together.
Nice. Okay. So these are really good examples of what, you know, Fabiana might have heard in the meeting or what you guys might hear if you're doing business in English.
Super common to hear this, right, Michelle?
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Exclusions apply, see details online. Okay, so let's get into it a bit more, Michelle.
Where do we go next? lindsay have you ever been behind the eight ball all the time i think it's a place i almost think we have to get comfortable with the discomfort sometimes i mean constantly right yeah i'm behind the eight ball on a number of things right now and i'm just trying to make it work michelle just trying to make it work here but that's life and that's business too and i think this idea i almost like this expression but don't want it I wish it didn't have a negative connotation because I think if you're never behind the eight ball, you're not a person.
Right. No one has everything together. And if they do, then they are lying to you.
They're trying to make it seem like they have everything together, but they don't.
So let's be realistic. The question is just how much of this do we share and who do we share it with and when do we say this?
Right. So, right. That's a good question.
So, I mean, why might this be good for business or when could we use it?
I mean, I think it could be a good way to bring up a problem that needs a solution, right?
We're behind the eight ball here. Let's have a meeting about what to do. hundred percent so a problem or as a way to connect or vent uh to your co-workers together um at work right yeah so yeah well i mean or like i said to propose a solution um so problem solution or just Getting something off your chest talking about something work Maybe you want somebody to help you talk through an issue or something like that And I think the other key point for our listeners on how to add value at your organization is to bring awareness to a problem So maybe your manager Let's say you work in the marketing department and your manager is not aware of every intricacy of the marketing but you might have noticed something and that your marketing team is doing wrong or a missed opportunity right you could you could use this phrase in that sense too hey we're a little behind the eight ball here i see most uh english language companies are doing x we're doing y why don't we try this for a month right that's really valuable Right.
Yeah. Yeah. I think that's great. And, you know, there are other ways to express this feeling.
So and these are all good for business as well, in my opinion.
Lindsay, we can talk about it, though. The first one is in a tough spot.
What do you think about that? I like it.
I mean, that's really what it means on the pool table, right?
Yeah. Technically, something is blocking your success.
Yeah, exactly. You don't have a straight shot.
You don't have a straight shot at success, right?
Yeah. So she was in a tough spot because she hadn't finished the project and the boss was expecting it right away.
Okay? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, not good. And then the next one is predicament, which is a fun word to say.
That is fun to say. That is fun. What would you say that in a sentence?
How would you say it? We are in quite the predicament when it comes to the Jones account.
How do we solve this? Yeah. So you're stuck.
You're having a problem, right? The conditions are not easy and you need to work through this problem together.
That's right. And the last one is a, is more casual.
It's a little funny, but it's used. You know, so funny that you wrote this because as I was trying to explain predicament, I thought of you're in a pickle and I didn't even see that you had written.
That's our next one. It's more casual for sure.
So be careful who you're using this around, but basically we're in a pickle.
We need to figure out a way to get this done before the deadline.
So it feels a little lighter, a little more lighthearted when you say that, doesn't it, Michelle?
It definitely does. And what, When you think about this, why do we say we're in a pickle?
I've got to research this one. Not a clue.
Because what? It's just so... I love when there are expressions that just are totally seemingly out of nowhere like that.
Yeah, I have no idea. I'm sure it goes back to something, but I don't know.
I don't know. Yeah, what do you do when you're behind the eight ball, Michelle?
What are your tactics? Well, I try to regroup.
I... try to get a little bit organized.
I mean, Lindsay, we've been working on the All Ears English team with putting our tasks in one place, getting everything organized for workflow.
So I think just getting a little bit organized or sometimes taking a step back, taking a little break can help.
What about you? Yeah, I think so. I really like the idea of assessing, like, let's say you're behind the eight ball, you're having a a problem and you're overwhelmed and you have so much that you need to get done.
Maybe you do a bit of an analysis of what is the level of effort and how does that correspond with the return on your investment of time of solving that problem.
So kind of prioritizing. That's what I do.
I try to look at everything that's going on and try to pick the easiest things to fix first.
I guess low-hanging fruit, that kind of idea is what I go after.
Yeah, that is a helpful tactic. Yeah, for sure.
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Hit follow right now, guys. Please do. Okay, Michelle, what are we doing here?
Okay, so you and I work together, but we just found out that our coworker is quitting.
Oh, okay. All right. Here we go. So I'm ready.
I can't believe Joanna is out. We are really going to be behind the eight ball.
I don't know what we're going to do. I know she was so key for this project.
We are definitely in a tough spot now. maybe we should have a team meeting to talk about the predicament we're in yes it's a pickle for sure that's kind of like sounds kind of folksy you know i don't know kind of casual right the pickle yeah yeah yeah maybe you're trying to lighten it up a little bit you're trying to like very something yeah there's something there around tone for sure So just read the room, understand the seriousness of the conversation when you're gonna move from predicament to pickle.
It does become more casual for sure. That sounds like a fun title.
Predicament to pickle. That does sound fun.
Maybe we'll try that one. We'll see. Okay, so let's go through it.
So the first thing I said, we're really going to be behind the eight ball.
Love it. And then I say, I know she was so key for this project.
We are definitely in a tough spot. And then I said, we should have a team meeting to talk about the predicament we're in.
And then I lightened it up and I said, yeah, it's a pickle for sure. and i actually like that we brought in this scenario because right now the economy is in kind of a weird spot like we're seeing tech layoffs in large companies we're seeing large companies do big layoffs but the economy it seems to be strong at the same time we're getting a lot of mixed signals so our listeners may be in a situation where co-workers do get laid off who knows right and then your team might have might be getting smaller and so you're taking on the workload of what someone used to do, right?
And so we may be having these conversations.
Yeah, how to restructure, how to reorganize the work.
Yeah, very interesting. Any other takeaway for today, Michelle?
Well, guys, don't panic when problems come up, when you're behind the eight ball, just try and find ways to solve them.
My phone just dropped on the floor. Sorry about that.
Try these idioms and expressions today. I think they're really useful.
And I hope that you are able to find some way to assess and organize yourself.
All right. Sounds good, Michelle. I'll talk to you soon.
Have a good day. Bye. You too. Bye. thank you for listening to business english a podcast just for you the high achieving global professional want more from all ears english don't miss our biggest and best podcast with 8 million monthly downloads just search for the all ears english podcast and hit follow to get four new episodes per week on fluency american culture grammar and so much more or Tap the link in the show notes.
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