1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ Who by showing at Operas, Balls, Plays, and Court, … Had shrunk his ‘weak means,’ and was ‘stump’d’ and hard up.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xi. He … was, not to put too fine a point upon it hard-up.
1865. New York Herald. This anxiety … shows conclusively that they are hard-up for political capital.
1871. Lond. Figaro, 25 Jan. For years, England has been a refuge for hard-up German princelings.
1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, i., 13. I don’t look hard up do I? No, because you’ve spent my money on your wretched dress.
1891. Fun, 25 Mar. You’re hard up, ain’t you? Stumped? Well, it’s Threadneedle Street to a frying-pan, that if Popsy knew your real name, he’d lend you a thousand or two like a shot.
English Synonyms.—Many under floored apply equally to hard-up; others are:—At low water mark; cracked up; dead-broke; down on one’s luck; fast; in Queer Street; in the last of pea time; in the last run of shad; low down; low in the lay; oofless; out of favor with the oof-bird; pebble-beached; seedy; short; sold-up; stony-broke; strapped; stuck; stumped; suffering from an attack of the week’s (or month’s) end; tight; on one’s uppers; under a cloud; on one’s beam ends.
French Synonyms.—Se mettre dans le bœuf (common = to go in for block ornaments (q.v.)); être en brindezingue (mountebanks = gone to smash); être brouillé avec la monnaie (familiar = to have had a row with one’s banker); être coupé (printers’); être à la côte (familiar = on the shelf); être fauché (thieves’ = cut down); être dans la purée (thieves’); être molle (thieves’); être à la faridon (popular); être en dèche (popular); être désargenté (thieves’ = oofless); être bref (popular = short); être à fond de cale (popular = down to bed-rock); être à la manque (popular = on short commons); manger de la misère (popular = to sup sorrow); être dans le lac (popular = a hole); être pané (general); panné comme la Hollande (general = very hard up). [[272]]
Spanish Synonyms.—Estar pelado or ser un pelado (= skinned); tiñoso (= scabby).
Italian Synonym.—Calcare a ventun ’ora.