phrases

[Molly]

what does the phrase `thems the breaks' mean?

[Quizmonster]

'A lucky break' or - its opposite - 'a bad break' are both phrases which originated in America, the 'break' part meaning 'circumstance' or 'happening' or 'outcome'. In cricket, for example, a lucky break - for the batsman - might be someone dropping an easy catch.

'Them's the breaks' is simply a slangy version of 'those are the breaks' meaning 'that's the way things turn out' (for good or ill...though probably more usually meaning ill.)