play ball
Idioms-
Cooperate, as in The opposing attorneys refused to play ball with us . [ Slang ; c. 1900]
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Get going, start, as in It's time to get a move on; let's play ball . This usage comes from the baseball umpire's call to start a game. [ Slang ; late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, with more American buyers demanding this type of transparency, Chinese trading companies have to play ball or risk losing business, lawyers say.
“I don’t have old 65 yr old guys at my disposal to play ball,” Tikriti messaged the cooperating witness at one point.
From Los Angeles Times
“I just have to give all of Ole Miss a ‘thanks,’” Chambliss said, “for letting me come here to play ball.”
The administration benefited greatly from the quick decision of most trading partners to play ball—with the exception of China and, albeit briefly, Canada.
From Barron's
In the third inning, Betts fielded what could have been an inning-ending double play ball, but his relay from shortstop was wide of second baseman Tommy Edman.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
