play the ball and not the man

8.8

To focus on the issue, not on the person

idiom

: jugar al balón y no al hombre

In debates, it's better to play the ball and not the man for a more constructive discussion.

Examples

The captain urged his team to play the ball and not the man after a rough start.
She reminded herself to play the ball and not the man during tense negotiations.
Always play the ball and not the man!
In sports, we should always play the ball and not the man.
In debates, it's better to play the ball and not the man for a more constructive discussion.
She reminded herself to play the ball and not the man during tense negotiations.
The captain urged his team to play the ball and not the man after a rough start.

Synonyms

to play fair

vsplay the ball and not the man

23 2.3

Act honestly and follow the rules in a game or situation

focuses on the issue rather than attacking an opponent personally

Antonyms

to attack

597 3.4

To strongly criticize someone or something in public

How Fair

to focus on

∞ 2.0

play the ball and not the man

8.8

to criticize

701 3.3

to attack

597 3.4

to insult

Offensive

543 2.1

Surface Forms

play the ball and not the man main

Morphology

play + the + ball + and + not + the + man

The phrase is built from transparent lexical items but expresses a sports-based metaphor: 'play the ball' (focus on the ball/issue) vs 'not the man' (don’t attack the person). A learner who knows the words may get a general sense, but the pragmatic transfer from a literal sports instruction to the figurative sense of focusing on the issue rather than the person requires contextual knowledge, so it is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Play the ball and not the man comes from sports where players are told to go for the ball and not to attack the man, the other player. So, it means 'focus on the issue, not attack someone personally'.