subs. (prison).—1. Hard labour.
1890. Globe, 26 Feb., p. 1, c. 4. Monetary penalties, therefore, do not act as deterrents, but the certainty of seven days’ incarceration, with or without HARD, would soon diminish the nuisance.
2. See HARD-SHELL.
3. (colloquial).—Third-class. As opposed to SOFT (q.v.). Thus: ‘Do you go HARD or SOFT?’ = ‘Do you go Third or First?’ An abbreviation of HARD-ARSE.
Adj. (American).—1. Applied to metal of all kinds: e.g., HARD (COLE or STUFF) = silver or gold as compared to cheques or SOFT (q.v.).
1825. NEAL, Brother Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. The bill … amounted to one dollar and a quarter HARD MONEY.
1844. Puck, p. 146. That cunning old file won’t let her go with the HARD CASH down.
1859. G. W. MATSELL, Vocabulum; or, The Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v. HARD. Metal.
1859. G. W. MATSELL, Vocabulum; or, The Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v. HARD COLE. Silver or gold money.
1863. C. READE, Hard Cash [Title].
2. (old: now recognised).—1. Sour or souring; as in HARD-CIDER; (2) HARD drinks (American) = intoxicating liquors, as wine, ale, etc., while lemonade, soda-water, ginger-beer, etc., are SOFT.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. HARD DRINK, that is very Stale, or begining to Sower.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. HARD. Stale beer, nearly sour, is said to be HARD.
1882. Daily Telegraph, 10 Oct., p. 5, c. 3. A fourth defendant, in pleading guilty, urged that the month of August last ‘turned a lot of beer sour,’ and that he had only used some sugar for the purpose of mollifying the HARD or sour porter.
HARD AS A BONE (NAILS, etc.), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very hard; austere; unyielding.
1885. Indoor Paupers, p. 79. He stood it for a week or two without flinching—being at that date HARD AS NAILS, as he expresses it.
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.]
