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Meaning & use

life throws a curveball

phrase·Advancedinformalfigurative

Last updated

UK/ˌlaɪf θrəʊz ə ˈkɜːvbɔːl/
US/ˌlaɪf θroʊz ə ˈkɜːrvbɔːl/

Meanings

  1. phrasefixed phraseinformalfigurative

    Used to say that life brings an unexpected problem or difficult event that you must deal with.

    Grammar: The subject is usually 'life', and the object can be a person: life threw me a curveball. It is not used in the passive.

    Patterns

    • life throws someone a curveball
    • life threw someone a curveball

    Just when I thought things were going well, life threw me a curveball.

    Life throws a curveball when you least expect it.

    She lost her job last month — life throws a curveball sometimes.

  2. phrasefixed phraseinformalfigurative

    Used more generally when someone or something does something surprising that changes your plans.

    Grammar: The subject can be a person or situation, not only 'life': the boss threw us a curveball with the new schedule.

    Patterns

    • someone throws someone a curveball
    • something throws someone a curveball

    The weather threw us a curveball and we had to cancel the picnic.

    The interviewer threw me a curveball with a question I hadn't prepared for.

Common combinations

life throws you a curveball
Life throws you a curveball, and you just have to keep going.
throw someone a curveball
The new manager threw us a curveball by changing all the rules.
when life throws a curveball
When life throws a curveball, try to stay calm.
life threw me a curveball
Life threw me a curveball when my car broke down.

Synonyms and how they differ

throw a spanner in the works
This British idiom means to spoil a plan; 'throw a curveball' focuses on an unexpected challenge you must respond to.
come out of left field
This means something happens very unexpectedly; it does not always suggest a difficult problem the way 'curveball' does.

Opposites

go according to planbe plain sailing

Word family

curveball noun
In baseball, a pitch that curves; figuratively, a surprising problem.

Commonly confused: life throws a curveball or curve ball?

life throws a curveball vs curve ball

The baseball term is sometimes written as two words, but the figurative idiom is usually one word: curveball.

Practice

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