Hard at it, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very busy; in the thick of a piece of work.
To die hard, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To sell one’s life dearly; e.g., The die-hards (q.v.), the 59th Regiment, so called from their gallantry at Albuera.
To give hard for soft, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. See Greens.
To be Hard Hit. See Hard-hit.
[Hard, adj., is used in many combinations; generally with an unpleasant intention. Thus, hard-arsed (or fisted, or handed) = very niggardly; hard-bit (or hard-mouthful) = an unpleasant experience; hard-driven (or hard-run) = sore bested; hard-faced (or favoured, or featured) = grum, shrewish, or bony; hard-headed (or hard-witted) = shrewd and intelligent, but unimaginative and unsympathetic; hard-hearted = incapable of pity; hard-lipped = obstinate, dour; hard-master = a nigger-driver; hard-nut = a dangerous antagonist; hard-on = pitiless in severity; hard-riding = selfish and reckless equestration; hard-service = the worst kind of employment; hard-wrought = overworked, etc., etc.]
Hard-a-weather, adj. (nautical).—Tough; weather-proof.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 44. They were hard-a-weather fellows.
Hard-bake, subs. (schoolboys’).—A sweetmeat made of boiled brown sugar or treacle with blanched almonds.
1825. Hone, Every-day Bk., I., 51. Hardbake, brandy-balls, and bull’s-eyes.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii. The commodities exposed for sale in the public streets are marine stores, hard-bake, apples, etc.