have the ball in court

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have the ball in one's court

1. Lit. to have a ball belonging to a game played on a court on one's side of the court. You have the ball in your court, so hit it back to me!

2. . Fig. to be responsible for the next move in some process; to have to make a response to something that someone else has started. You have the ball in your court now. You have to answer the attorney's questions. There was no way that Liz could avoid responding. She had the ball in her court.

See also: ball, court, have

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