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to be on the black

English translation: playing the black ball

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English term or phrase:	to be on the black
English translation:	playing the black ball
Entered by:	Aurélie DANIEL

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09:26 Nov 5, 2010

English to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

English term or phrase: to be on the black

I've posted this in EN>FR, but so far I only got guesses.

I give you quite a lot of text in order to get the tone of the author. It's in a book where 50 copywriters give insights about how they approach their work.

Once I’ve read the brief, I tend to waddle off and play pool, or hang about with unsuitable women for a while. On the one hand it allows the important bits of the brief to sink in, and the reams of dross to fade into richly-deserved obscurity, and on the other, it’s a far more sensible way of spending the time than sitting in an office counting the number of times a junior account executive uses the word ‘creative’. When I can only remember one thing about the brief, and just before I forget there was a brief in the first place, and assuming I’m not ***on the black***, I write that one thing down and get the account people to write a strategy round it.

Aurélie DANIEL KudoZ activity Questions: 153 (none open) (11 without valid answers) (4 closed without grading) Answers: 103 Spain
Local time: 03:11

playing the black ball

Explanation:
He's gone off to play pool while he thinks the brief through. He'll write down his thoughts, provided he's not playing the black ball at the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackball_(pool)
http://ebapool.com/wpabbrules.pdf