What it means
Snookered means properly stuck, with no clean way out. You use it when your options have dried up, the plan's gone sideways, or someone’s played it so neatly that all you can do is stand there looking mildly doomed. It’s a very British way of saying you’re in a bit of trouble without making a full theatre show of it.
Usage examples
"Boss wants the report by five, laptop’s died, and the IT bloke’s on his tea break till next week. Yeah mate, I’m snookered. Fancy lending us your charger?"
"With the last train gone and no taxis about, we were properly snookered and ended up walking the whole way home."
"I locked my keys in the flat, my phone’s on 2 percent, and the landlord’s in Benidorm. I’m absolutely snookered."
"We took the wrong exit, there’s no signal, and the sat nav’s frozen. Nice one, we’re proper snookered now."
"Missed the deadline, lost the attachment, and now she wants it printed in ten minutes. I'm absolutely snookered here."
Where it comes from
It comes from snooker, the cue sport. If the cue ball’s tucked away so you can’t make a proper shot at the ball you need, you’re snookered. That game sense slid neatly into British English, where it means stuck, trapped, or left with no decent move.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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