Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) harassment, heavy-handed teasing.

1949		J.H. Burns Lucifer with a Book 140: O my God! my God! Is there no finale to this ballbreaking? Get out, you old fart of brimstone.
1979		H. Feldman et al. Angel Dust 77: Fighting, ‘ball-breaking’ (verbal insults), and daring exploits such as high-speed driving.
1980		S. Whalen It Takes a Man to Cry 97: Save your ball-busting for the firehouse, Williams.
1989		J.W. Hall Tropical Freeze n.p.: She was listening to her bitchy channel today, getting the word from the gods of smartass and ballbusting.
1991		New Republic 4 Mar. 15: I fear tomorrow’s right-winger may be slicker, more aggressive, and more detached from the consequences of geopolitical ballbusting [HDAS].
1997		T. Fontana & S. Jablonski ‘Ancient Tribes’ Oz ser. 2 ep. 2 [TV script] After [...] a lot of politicking, ball-busting and some backup from the Warden, here we are.
2004		S. Robinson Callahan’s Con 28: You’d think Harry would be used to his sudden appearances by now, after more than a decade of mutual ballbreaking, but it still gets the little guy.
2010		(con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 106: It’s no joke your ballbreaking lately.
2014		E. McNamara ‘Authenti Cityin ThugLit Sept. [ebook] [T]he Brooklyn art of ball-busting didn't go over with a Boston guy like Wahlberg.