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分享一个知识点： Reader question: In this sentence – The winners in business have always played hardball – what does hardball mean exactly? My comments: Playing hardball means to be aggressive and ruthless, going straight for the opponent’s jugular and sometimes disregarding rules and etiquette. The term “play hardball” comes from the game of baseball. Women play a similar game, but it’s called softball because the ball is slightly larger (making it easier to make a hit) and softer (safer to play with) than the regular ball used in the men’s game. Choosing to play “hardball” hence suggests you are tough and aggressive. YourDictionary.com says this usage (to describe aggressive behavior) began in the late 1970s. Take negotiations, for example, which are about making compromises. If one negotiator opts for hardball tactics, however, you may infer that they probably won’t be making any concessions. On the contrary, they will probably make unreasonable demands. They’ll raise their voice rather than speak with a conciliatory tone. In other words, they might shout rather than whisper. In short, people who decide to play hardball are hell bent on winning, ready to achieve their goal by any means possible – by fair means or foul. Here are real examples of hardball players from recent media: 1. It was the dawn of the Reagan Revolution, and the Republicans had just retaken the Senate - not an easy time to be the torchbearer for liberalism. But Kennedy assumed the role gladly. He became not only a dogged defender of the faith but also an even more adept player of the congressional game. In the ‘80s, he teamed repeatedly with the unlikeliest of allies, conservative Utah Republican Orrin Hatch. It was Hatch and Kennedy who got the first major AIDS legislation passed in 1988, a $1 billion spending measure for treatment, education and research. Two years later, they pushed through the Ryan White CARE Act to assist people with HIV who lack sufficient health-care coverage. But if Kennedy knew how to play ball with the other side, he also knew how to play hardball. When Reagan tried to put Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, it was Kennedy who led the ferocious and ultimately successful liberal opposition. | 
