Lexic.us

Definition of Hard up

1. Adjective. Not having enough money to pay for necessities.

Definition of Hard up

1. Adverb. (colloquial) Lacking money, impecunious, in financial difficulties. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Hard Up

Literary usage of Hard up

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Giving the Derivation, Source, Or Origin of by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1898)
"hard up. Short of money. " N'avoir pa» de quitta." " Up " often = out, as, ... "hard up" = nearly put [of cash]. In these, and all similar examples, '. ..."

2. London Society edited by James Hogg, Florence Marryat (1883)
"hard up. I WAS hard up. There was no mistake about that; bookkeeping by double entry, ... hard up ' is not a pretty phrase, but it is admirably expressive, ..."

3. The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow: A Book for an Idle Holiday by Jerome Klapka Jerome (1891)
"The only thing I can think about now is being hard up. I suppose having my hands in my pockets has made me think about this. I always do sit with my hands ..."

4. Ainsworth's Magazine: A Miscellany of Romance, General Literature, & Art by William Harrison Ainsworth, George Cruikshank, Hablot Knight Browne (1852)
"ON Sunday, the 22nd ultimo, the usual weekly meeting of the Hard-up Club was held at Exeter Hall. At precisely five o'clock the gallant president took the ..."

5. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Charles Godfrey Leland (1889)
"The word seems, however, to he a variant of " deaner," which see. Down on the hed rock (West American), penniless. . I was. mighty hard up at the ..."

6. The Cultivator by New York State Agricultural Society (1860)
"Skill is now demanded to regulate the ventilation until the crop is cured, which is determined by examining the stem in the leaf, which should bo hard, up ..."

7. Personal Reminiscences by Robert Bennet Forbes (1882)
"... Trip —"hard up " In London — Captain Page and the La Plata Expedition — Tin- "Argentina" and the "Alpha" — The Voyage of the "Nankin " — Scenes on Board ..."

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