From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhardballhard‧ball /ˈhɑːdbɔːl $ ˈhɑːrdbɒːl/ noun [uncountable] American English → play hardball
Examples from the Corpus
hardball• It was the same nasty hardball every workman knew to expect.• Well, we can play hardball, too.• This is playing hardball, but it is hardball of a sort familiar in these dealings.• I began to understand the style of working in D. C. It was a place where people played political hardball.From Longman Business Dictionaryhardballhard‧ball /ˈhɑːdbɔːlˈhɑːrdbɒːl/ noun play hardball informal to be very determined to get what you want, especially in business or politics, without considering the feelings of othersThe car company is ready to play hardball in negotiations with the union. 