played the man, not the ball

Questions

What does played the man, not the ball mean?

simple past and past participle of play the man, not the ball

How to pronounce played the man, not the ball

1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “played the man, not the ball”.
2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “played the man, not the ball”.
4. Repeat and practice — Say “played the man, not the ball” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.