hardball
39
6.6
- noun
- /ˈhɑrdˌbɔl/
:
mano dura
- Turkey's Ministry of Culture is playing hardball with some of the world's most prestigious museums.
- play hardball
- political hardball
Austin, unhappy with this change, decided to play hardball.
- Austin, unhappy with this change, decided to play hardball.
- So it comes back to my team that Oprah was a little put off by the way my agency was playing hardball with her.
- That's not even the hard power of they're going to play hardball with a corner on rare earth metals, a corner on on manufacturing.
Examples
-
It's time the Dems started playing hardball instead of trying to be nice, fair, and balanced.
Blog text (4) -
Maybe we should leave him a little message to let 'em know we're playing hardball.
Fiction book (1994) -
So we're gonna have to play some hardball now.
-
Dude, you playing hardball, huh?
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You wanted to play hardball, remember?
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These guys play hardball, Tom.
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And that means you have to play hardball.
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In the midst of litigation, a little hardball is not too surprising.
Academic text (2016) -
As a lawyer, Leslie had to know that the Shapiros were a family that played hardball.
Fiction book (1995) -
In business negotiations, sometimes you have to adopt a hardball approach to get what you want.
Synonyms
24
5.1
A firm position that accepts no compromise in politics or talks
1
5.8
A practical, strict way to handle problems to get results
Antonyms
How Tough
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word hardball also means a tough, uncompromising way of acting, especially in business or politics. Think of the parts hard ('firm') and ball ('game ball'): to 'play hardball' is like playing a rough, serious game where you will not give in.