From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtwo/three strikes against somebody/somethingtwo/three strikes against somebody/somethingAmerican English a condition or situation that makes it extremely difficult for someone or something to be successful Children from poor backgrounds have two strikes against them by the time they begin school. → strike
Examples from the Corpus
two/three strikes against somebody/something• For the younger pilots, I had two strikes against me before I even began that were impossible to overcome.• Generally, unless batters have two strikes against them, Bosley doesn't want them to swing at high strikes. 