them's the breaks
them's the breaks phrase: that is the way things happen; that's life.
Phrase
them's the breaks
- That is the way things happen; that's life.
- 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.2022 July 7, Heather Stewart, quoting Boris Johnson, “Boris Johnson’s resignation speech: what he said, and what he meant”, in The Guardian
Synonyms of them's the breaks
- that's the way the cookie crumbles
- c'est la vie
- it is as it is
- it is how it is
- it is what it is
- life's a bitch
- shit happens
- so be it
- so is life
- so it goes
8 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- such is life
- that's life
- that's that and this is this
- that's the way it goes
- that’s the way it plays
- that's the way life is
- that's the way the ball bounces
- that's the way the mop flops
Forms of them's the breaks
| alternative form | those are the breaks |
|---|---|
| alternative form | them’s da breaks |
Origin of them's the breaks
From break in the sense “stroke of luck” (compare tough break, lucky break).
Questions about them's the breaks
- What does them's the breaks mean?
- Them's the breaks means that is the way things happen; that's life.
- What part of speech is them's the breaks?
- Them's the breaks is a phrase.
Words near them's the breaks in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: them's the breaks (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-them's the breaks.ogg.
Cite this entry: “them's the breaks.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/them%27s_the_breaks. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.