meatball
A dull, boring, slow-witted, or uninteresting person.
You'll never get an interesting story out of that meatball - stop inviting him.
oddball
An eccentric person; one who doesn't act like everyone else.
John is an oddball - he never invites anyone.
passed ball
A pitched baseball missed by the catcher when he should have been able to catch it.
The batter singled and went to second on a passed ball.
pitch a curve
pitch a curve ball
To catch someone unawares; confront someone with an unexpected event or act.
My professor pitched me a curve ball when he unexpectedly confronted me with a complicated mathematical equation that was way over my head.
play ball
To begin play in a ball game.
When the umpire calls "Play ball," the game begins.
To join in an effort with others; cooperate.
Объединиться для совместных действий; взаимодействовать.
To get along during Prohibition, many men felt that they had to play ball with gangsters.
A is often good business to play ball with a political machine.
I am not going to play ball with you since your project is a mere fraud.
Я не собираюсь сотрудничать с вами, так как ваш проект это явное мошенничество.
play hard ball
To act aggressively or ruthlessly to get what you want.
Concerning your work situation, you’re in no position to play hard ball with management.
stuff the ballot box
ballot stuffing
ballot-stuffing
To give more votes to a candidate in an election than there are people who actually voted for him.
It is a crime to stuff the ballot box.
the cookie crumbles!
this is how the cookie crumbles
that's how the cookie crumbles
that's the way the ball bounces
That's how things are; that's life.
It's too bad about John and Mary getting divorced, but then that's how the cookie crumbles.
Nothing unusual about that. Said of unpleasant things.
"Susan left me for a heavyweight boxer, and then I got drunk and wrecked my car," Bob bitterly complained. "Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Pam answered philosophically.