Question

That's the Way the Ball Bounces that's the way life is; that's fate; things sometimes turn out a certain way and you can't do anything about it

Accepted Answer

You promised to baby-sit on the night of Dana's party? Oh, well, that's the way the ball bounces. This American idiom dates back to the 1950s. A similar idiom is "that's the way the cookie crumbles." The alliteration in both sayings (ball bounces, cookie crumbles) contributed to the word choices. This saying makes clear that unpredictable things often happen in life, and you have to learn to live with and accept them. The French have a similar saying, C'est la vie ("That's life.") We also say, "That's the way it goes."

Idiom	That's the Way the Ball Bounces
Example	You promised to baby-sit on the night of Dana's party? Oh, well, that's the way the ball bounces.
Meaning	that's the way life is; that's fate; things sometimes turn out a certain way and you can't do anything about it
Origin	This American idiom dates back to the 1950s. A similar idiom is "that's the way the cookie crumbles." The alliteration in both sayings (ball bounces, cookie crumbles) contributed to the word choices. This saying makes clear that unpredictable things often happen in life, and you have to learn to live with and accept them. The French have a similar saying, C'est la vie ("That's life.") We also say, "That's the way it goes."

Ball Bounces Things Idiom Similar Cookie Promised Baby Sit