play the man and not the ball
To object to someone's argument by attacking them or a facet of their personality instead of the argument itself; to make an ad hominem attack.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Don't play the man and not the ball during our debate.”
“Instead of answering my question about the budget, he started playing the man and not the ball by criticizing my past mistakes.”
“In a display of poor rhetoric, the politician chose to play the man and not the ball, ignoring the policy proposal entirely to focus on his opponent's character.”
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ball hog
In team sports, a player who keeps the ball to themselves, rather than passing it.
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ball of fire
A person who is especially active, ambitious, hard-working, or high-achieving.
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ball of malt
A glass of whiskey.
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balls of steel
Courage, audacity.
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balls to the wall
With maximum effort or commitment.
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be a man
To put up with something or take responsibility for it; to deal with something, such as pain or misfortune, without complaining.
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be one's own man
To behave independently without the influence of others.
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be the bigger man
To walk away from a conflict to prevent it from escalating.
Last updated August 10, 2026