play hardball (English, verb)
expansion: play hardball (third-person singular simple present plays hardball, present participle playing hardball, simple past and past participle played hardball)
Senses:
glosses: To use every means possible to achieve a goal, especially in disregarding the harm caused.
tags: idiomatic
informal
glosses: To act rough and ruthless, especially in business or politics.
tags: idiomatic
informal
Forms:
form: plays hardball
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: playing hardball
tags: participle
present
form: played hardball
tags: participle
past
form: played hardball
tags: past