hardscrabble — [härd′skrab΄əl] adj. producing or earning only a very small amount; barren [a hardscrabble farm, life, etc.] … English World dictionary
hardscrabble — (adj.) 1804, U.S. colloquial, the name of an imaginary barren place where a livelihood may be obtained only under great hardship and difficulty; from HARD (Cf. hard) + SCRABBLE (Cf. scrabble). First recorded in journals of Lewis and Clark.… … Etymology dictionary
hardscrabble — adjective Date: 1804 1. a. being or relating to a place of barren or barely arable soil < a hardscrabble farm > < hardscrabble prairies > b. getting a meager living from poor soil < a hardscrabble farmer > 2. marked by poverty < a hardscrabble… … New Collegiate Dictionary
hardscrabble — /hahrd skrab euhl/, adj. providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding: the hardscrabble existence of mountainside farmers. [1795 1805, Amer.; HARD + SCRABBLE] * * * … Universalium
hardscrabble — hard|scrab|ble [ hard,skræbl ] adjective AMERICAN hardscrabble land is very difficult to grow anything on a. used for describing a time, situation, or place in which life is difficult and people are poor … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
hardscrabble — adjective N. Amer. involving hard work and struggle: a brutally hardscrabble life … English new terms dictionary
hardscrabble — hard•scrab•ble [[t]ˈhɑrdˌskræb əl[/t]] adj. providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort: a hardscrabble existence[/ex] • Etymology: 1795–1805 … From formal English to slang
hardscrabble — adjective barely satisfying a lower standard the sharecropper s hardscrabble life • Similar to: ↑meager, ↑meagre, ↑meagerly, ↑stingy, ↑scrimpy … Useful english dictionary
Hardscrabble Canyon — is a mountain pass through the Wet Mountains. It is a relatively minor pass. However, the many winding turns can be difficult to navigate when covered in snow or ice. During the summer, there is usually heavy tourist traffic, but the winter… … Wikipedia
Hardscrabble, Indiana — Infobox Settlement official name = Hardscrabble settlement type = Town motto = imagesize = image caption = mapsize = map caption = mapsize1 = map caption1 = image dot dot mapsize = dot map caption = dot x = dot y = pushpin pushpin label position … Wikipedia
hardscrabble marginal — Meager Mea ger, Meagre Mea gre, a. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. makro s long. Cf. {Emaciate}, {Maigre}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. [1913 Webster] Meager… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
