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play the man and not the ball

To attack an opponent instead of attacking the ball, which is usually being controlled by the attacked player at the time.
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Submitted on January 20, 2019

Additional definitions for 'play the man and not the ball':

play the man and not the ballTo 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.
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Translation

Find a translation for the play the man and not the ball phrase in other languages:

العب الرجل وليس الكرة

jugar al hombre y no a la pelota

jouer l'homme et non le ballon

आदमी खेलते हैं और गेंद नहीं

gioca l'uomo e non la palla

공이 아니라 남자를한다

играть человеком, а не мячом

మనిషిని ఆడుకోండి బంతి కాదు

آدمی کو کھیلنا اور گیند نہیں

打男人而不是打球

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to play the man and not the ball

play upplay the race cardplay the hand one is dealtplay to winplay someone like a fiddlePlay the Fireplay upplay withplay to winplay the ball and not the manplay the foolplay silly buggersplay the anglesplay to the gallery

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    "play the man and not the ball." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/play-the-man-and-not-the-ball_42879>.

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