It’s been a rocky week of resignations from ministers and aides, including Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, in the world of UK politics.
Now, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he is resigning from his role as Tory party leader but does not plan on stepping down until autumn 2022.
He addressed the nation on Thursday, July 7, 2022, after days of speculation about whether he’d be ousted or resign.
In his speech, which included references to “getting Brexit done” and how “sad” he was to be “giving up the best job in the world”.
However, Mr Johnson also used a bizarre turn of phrase in his address, which left many viewers baffled.
Here’s exactly what he said and what the term means.
What does ‘them’s the breaks’ mean?
Following numerous blunders and shocking moves, Boris Johnson resigned from his role as Prime Minister and Tory party leader in a speech on Thursday, July 7, 2022.
While the majority of his comments highlighted what he believed he had achieved while in his role, he also slipped in a sporting analogy.
In the address, he said: “And to you the British public - I know there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed.
“And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them’s the breaks.”
People were quick to take to social media to express their surprise and confusion at the term.
The phrase “them’s the breaks” is used in pool or billiards and refers to balls being broken on the table by a player after being racked up in formation.
Given that the results of this break cannot be changed or amended, players must play on despite the outcome.
When used outside of the realms of balls being broken on the table, it tends to mean “that’s the way things turn out” or “that’s the way it is”, which is apt for Mr Johnson’s predicament in politics this week.
Lexico, formed by Dictionary.com and Oxford University Press, is an online English dictionary website and its users have also debated that the phrase could also show the resigned acceptance of a situation.
