to play hardball
26
7.0
- phrasal verb
- /pleɪ ˈhɑrdˌbɔl/
- Informal
:
actuar con dureza
- In negotiations, the company decided to play hardball to secure better terms.
- wants to play hardball
- wanna play hardball
- willing to play hardball
We've been playing softball, so let's play hardball right back.
- We've been playing softball, so let's play hardball right back.
- 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
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Be advised: These 419 eaters are tight-knit, guard their identities closely, and can play hardball with the scammers.
Blog text (13) -
Romney didn't get where he is by not knowing how to play hardball.
Blog text (18) -
So you want to play hardball?
-
So now we'll start playing hardball.
-
You want to play hardball?
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These guys play hardball, Tom.
-
All right, I'll tell you what, you wanna play hardball?
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I think the plain fact here is that the Union played hardball and lost.
Blog text (3) -
The progressive Democrats should play hardball and force a better deal.
Blog text (7) -
If you want to play hardball, sir, I'll play hardball too.
Synonyms
56
6.7
Act with a lot of energy, often fighting, arguing, or working hard
5
6.4
Begin attacking or acting aggressively to gain an advantage
5
7.5
To use your power to make others do what you want
Play aggressively to attack the other team rather than defend
Antonyms
How Aggressive
8
3.7
- Informal
26
7.0
24
5.1
2
4.4
543
3.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositionally derived from 'play' (to engage in or use) plus 'hardball' (hard‑nosed, uncompromising tactics): to 'play hardball' = to engage in hardball tactics. This follows a regular English pattern (play + noun/activity) so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the idiomatic sense, although the noun 'hardball' ultimately rests on a baseball metaphor.
Etymology
The idiom play hardball comes from baseball: a 'hard ball' is a real, heavy ball and playing with it is rough and serious. So to play hardball means 'to act aggressively' to get what you want.