hardball
baseball, as distinguished from softball.
tough or ruthless: He wasn't ready for the hardball politics of Washington.
outspoken, challenging, or difficult: Reporters asked the president some hardball questions.
Idioms about hardball
play hardball, to act or work aggressively, competitively, or ruthlessly, as in business or politics.
Origin of hardball
1Words Nearby hardball
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hardball in a sentence
What determines how many appointments a president gets is a combination of pure luck and partisan hardball.
I Spent 7 Months Studying Supreme Court Reform. We Need to Pack the Court Now | Kermit Roosevelt III | December 10, 2021 | TimeThey used hardball tactics to push through a map for Oregon that eliminates one highly competitive seat and adds two Democratic-leaning seats.
Redistricting Has Maintained The Status Quo So Far. That’s Good For Republicans. | Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com) | December 2, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightLast week on hardball, Kathleen Parker said he is definitely running.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Jeb Bush Can’t Beat Hillary Clinton | Michael Tomasky | May 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTScott Simkus bemusingly explores it all in Outsider Baseball: The Weird World of hardball on the Fringe, 1876—1950.
Home Runs, Frozen Ropes, And Some Wild Cards In Best Baseball Books | Robert Birnbaum | April 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn any case, the healthy sampling below confirms the narrative-friendly qualities of hardball.
Home Runs, Frozen Ropes, And Some Wild Cards In Best Baseball Books | Robert Birnbaum | April 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Will the Democrats engage in an aggressive, hardball type strategy?
Dems Need to Channel ‘House of Cards’’ Frank Underwood | Dean Obeidallah | March 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTransfixingly candid and gamely stepping up to the plate for a round of hardball, Lohan seemed to be answering yes.
Oprah’s Lindsay Lohan Interview Settles It: Lohan’s Comeback Is Real | Kevin Fallon | August 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for hardball
/ (ˈhɑːdbɔːl) /
US and Canadian baseball as distinct from softball
play hardball informal, mainly US and Canadian to act in a ruthless or uncompromising way
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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