hide the ball
The phrase "hide the ball" is used metaphorically to describe acts of concealment or deception in various contexts, including law, business, and sports.
Definition
B2General
(informal, idiom)To deliberately withhold important information or details to mislead others.
Example
- The manager was accused of hiding the ball during the meeting by not disclosing the budget cuts.
C1Law
(technical, slang)To withhold evidence in a trial that may harm one's case.
Example
- The defense was penalized for hiding the ball by not presenting all the documents during discovery.
C1Business
(informal)To purposefully hide the truth by omitting essential details, often to buy time.
Example
- The consultant was hiding the ball about the project's real costs.
B2Sports
(informal, baseball)A trick where a player conceals the ball to tag out a baserunner who believes the ball is elsewhere.
Example
- The baseman successfully hid the ball and tagged the runner out when he stepped off the base.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "hide the ball":
hidden-ball trickhide awayhide behindball upball downno ballwhite ballnew ballreturn ballplay ballball offplain ballballs updrop the ballsquare ballfree balladvance the balllong ballcover upshell game