Hard

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

HARD, adj., adv. and sb. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Colon. Also in forms haad e.Yks.1; hahd e.Yks.; hurd Cmb. 1. adj. and adv. In comb. (1) Hard-backed, miserly, stingy, noted for driving hard bargains; (2) Hard-batch, grape-wine; see below; (3) Hard-bitten one, a hard taskmaster; (4) Hard-bound, constipated; (5) Hard-bowed, said of flax when the seed has formed; (6) Hard-bread, oatcake; (7) Hard-buttons, a boys' game; see below; (8) Hard cake, (9) Hard cheese, hard treatment, a hard lot, ‘hard lines’; (10) Hard-core, brick, rubbish, or refuse used to make foundations; (11) Hard-corn, wheat and rye, as opposed to barley and oats; (12) Hard-dick, a pudding made only of flour and water; (13) Hard does, see (9); (14) Hard-dumpling, see (12); (15) Hard eating, dry food and corn, as opposed to grass; also called Hard-food; (16) Hard-faced, (a) impudent, obstinate, brazen-laced; (b) obstinate in making a bargain; (c) close-grained, hard in texture; (17) Hard-favoured, stern-faced; coarse-featured; (18) Hard-fish, dried or salt fish; (19) Hard-fist, a miserly person; (20) Hard-fisted, covetous; (21) Hard-fruit, stone-fruit, plums, &c.; (22) Hard-gait, a hard road; used fig. in prov.; see below; (23) Hard-gob, white metal; (24) Hard-grain, a present of wheat or money made to children at Christmas; (25) Hard grass, var. species of sedge or Carex; (26) Hard-ground man, a workman employed in driving rock other than coal; (27) Hard-haddled, hard-earned; see Addle, v.2; (28) Hard-handed, stingy, niggardly, close-fisted; (29) Hard hap, misfortune, adversity; (30) Hard-head, hardihood; (31) Hard-headed, (a) unyielding, stubborn; (b) shrewd, ‘cute’; (32) Hard-hearted, heart-breaking, distressing; (33) Hard-hewer, a stone-mason; (34) Hard-hodden or Hard-holden, tightly held; at a loss, embarrassed; hard put to it; (35) Hard-horn, tightly; (36) Hard-iron or Hardine, (a) the black knapweed, Centaurea nigra; also called Hardhead (q.v.); (b) the corn-crowfoot, Ranunculus arvensis; (c) the spreading halbert-leaved orache, Atriplex hastata; (37) Hard-matched, hardly able; (38) Hard matter, difficult; (39) Hard meat, see (15); (40) Hard-melched, of a cow: difficult to milk; (41) Hard-mouthed, obstinate, stubborn; (42) Hard-nap, a shrewd, clever fellow; (43) Hard-ooined, badly treated, over-worked; see Hoin, v.; (44) Hard-pin't, said of grass when eaten off close to the bare ground; (45) Hard-pushed, hard put to it; (46) Hard-race, calcareous concretionary matter formed round fossilized bones, found in brick-earth; (47) Hard-sailing, trouble, misfortune; (48) Hard-set, (a) scarcely able, hardly, with difficulty; hard-pressed, in difficulties, straits; (b) hungry; (c) to overdo; (49) Hard-setten, said of eggs sat upon until nearly the date of hatching; (50) Hard-stocking, land on which more stock is pastured than it can properly nourish; (51) Hard-thistle, the creeping plume-thistle, Carduus arvensis; (52) Hard-tree, close-grained wood; (53) Hard water, spring water as distinguished from rain or soft water; (54) Hard weight, a trifle short of the weight named; (55) Hard wheat, bearded wheat, Triticum durum; (56) Hard wood, (a) oak and ash as distinguished from fir, willow, beech, &c.; (b) firewood in logs or brands as distinguished from faggot-wood or ‘wood’ simply; (57) Hard-wood trees, deciduous trees (with the exception of oak), not of the fir tribe; (58) Hard-woolled one, see (3); (59) Hard word, (a) abuse; scandal; (b) a blunt refusal; (c) a pass-word or sign. (1) n.Yks. He's a hard-backed un (T.S.). (2) s.Hmp. Do you fetch that bottle of hard-batch (wine made from the outdoor grapes), Verney L. Lisle (1870) vi. (3) w.Wor. A hard-bitten un as be no mon's friend, S. Beauchamp N. Hamilton (1875) I. 3. (4) Chs.1 (5) N.I.1 (6) n.Ir. She bakit aboot three griddle fu's o' hard breid, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan 18. Lan. Wi'n yo have hard brade or loaf-brade? Waugh Awd Bodle, 250. (7) Lon. Several boys place one button each close together on a line. The game consists in hitting a particular button out of this line without touching the others. This is gen. played in London streets, Gomme Games (1894) 190. (8) n.Lin.1, Lei.1, War.3 (9) e.Yks.1 It's hard cheese when yan awn bayns tons ther backs o' yan, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks.5 To be turned off the premises where several generations of a family have lived and died, would be ‘hard-cheese.’ A criminal may deserve his twenty-one years' sentence of transportation, nevertheless it is ‘hard cheese to the poor fellah!’ Not.1, n.Lin.1, Lei.1, Oxf. (G.O.) (10) Lon. The phrase ‘hard-core' seems strictly to mean all such refuse matter as will admit of being used as the foundation of roads, buildings, &c., Mayhew Lond. Labour (ed. 1861) II. 281. (11) N.Cy.1, Nhb.1 Dur.1 Wheat or maslin, when growing, as distinguished from barley and oats. Stf. (K.) (12) Sus.1 (13) Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.1 It's hard-does for a man and his wife and bairns to be thrawn oot o' wark wi'oot warnin'. Glo. These 'ere times with hard doos fur farmers, and wi' the 'cheenery and zo on, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) x. Oxf.1 MS. add. (14) n.Yks. (I.W.) (15) Sc. (A.W.) Myo. I'd like the white mare tuk off the grash an' gave some hard'atin' for a few days, Stoker Snake's Pass (1891) vi. (16, a) Chs.3 I have heard a bold horse called ‘a regular hard-faced one.’ s.Chs.1 Ŭ tae·rbl aa·rd-fai·st wensh [A terr'ble hard-faced wench]. (b) Chs.1 (c) Chs.1 Timber which is hard and difficult to work is said to be hard-faced. An apple of so close a texture that you can scarcely get your teeth through it would be called hard-faced. (17) Ayr. A stalwart, hard-favoured, grey-haired man-at-arms, Galt Gilhaize (1823) i. Cum.1 Cum.4 (18) Sc. Indiscriminately given to cod, ling, and torsk, salted and dried (Jam.); Scoticisms (1787) 38. Or.I. Peterkin Notes (1822) App. 32. Cai.1 (19) s.Lin. Ha'e you hired yer sen to an o'd hard-fist like her? (T.H.R.) (20) Nhp.1 (21) Ken.1 (22) Sc. ‘The hare maun come to the hard gait,’ matters must take their course. Gen. addressed to those who appear wilful, and are determined to take their own way apparently against their interest (Jam.). (23) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 4, 1893); w.Yks.2 (24) ne.Lan.1 (25) Stf. Various sorts of seg grasses, provincially hard grass, iron grass, carnation grass, Reports Agric. (1793-1813) 27. (26) [Reports Mines.] (27) w.Yks. Dunnot be fooils goin an spendin boath yer time an yer hard-haddled cash at a jerry-shop, Dewsbre Olm. (1878) 3. (28) n.Sc. (Jam.) (29) Cum. Then hard hap have I, Gilpin Ballads (1874) 52. (30) w.Cy. (Hall.) (31, a) Cai.1, Slk. (Jam.) (b) Nhb. (R.O.H.) (32) Sh.I. Is dis wadder iver gaun ta shange, Magnus? He's [it's] truly been a hard-heartid time dis while, as iver I mind, I tink, Sh. News (June 11, 1898). (33) Ken.1 Ken.2 (34) Lakel.2 Ah was hard hodden ta keep mi tongue atween mi teeth an' keep frae tellen mi mind streck oot. n.Yks.2 ‘I was hard-hodden frae laughing,’ with difficulty I refrained from it. w.Yks. I have never seen a man so hard holden as he was, Snowden Web of Weave (1896) ii. (35) Sc. With his eyes shut hardhorn, Magopico (ed. 1836) 29. (36, a) Lan. (B. & H.), Chs.1 Chs.3, Stf. (B. & H.), s.Not. (J.P.K.) (b) n.Cy. (Hall.) Midl. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Der.2, nw.Der.1, Lei.1 (c) Lei.1 (37) n.Yks.2 That wall's hard-match'd to stand. (38) Oxf.1 MS. add. nw.Dev.1 'Tis hard matter to git about. (39) e.Yks. Maketh goodes fall sharply to their hard meate, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 76. (40) s.Chs.1 (41) Cor. You loose-jaw! hard-mouth'd, chuckle-headed kna-ave, Forfar Poems (1885) 47. (42) Hrf.2 (43) w.Yks. And all the while this lovin' wife, Hard-ooined although shoo be, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 107. (44) Cum.4 (45) Sc. (A.W.), n.Cy. (J.W.), Oxf. (G.O.) w.Som.1 We was terrible hard-pushed to get em a-dood in time. (46) Ken. It is called ‘Hard race’ by the workmen... at the large brickyard near Erith, Ramsay Rock Specimens (1862) 180. (47) e.Yks.1 Poor awd Mally; sha's had nowt bud hard-salin all her life-tahm, MS. add. (T.H.) (48, a) Sc. (A.W.) n.Yks. Ah's hard-set to dua 't (T.S.); T'parson was hard-set [to keep from laughing], Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 35; n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2; n.Yks.4 Ah wur hardset ti git t'job deean i' tahm. ne.Yks.1 Ah lay he'll be hard-set ti a'e deean afoor neet. e.Yks.1 Ah's haad-set ti live o' that wage. m.Yks.1 w.Yks. Shoo wir hard-set to do sich a thing as that, Hartley Clock Alm. (1886) 44; w.Yks.1 w.Yks.2 Lan.1 He's hard-set, aw con tell thi ─ eawt o' wark an' his woife deawn wi' twins. e.Lan.1, Not.1 n.Lin.1 We shall most on us be hard set if theäse prices hohds on a year or two longer. sw.Lin.1 They're often hardset for a meal. Lei.1 Nhp.1 He is hard set to maintain his family. War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dev.3 He's hardzet to pay his rent. (b) w.Yks.2 War.3 He is so hard set he will eat anything offered to him. (c) m.Yks.1 Take him to the field with thee, and don't hardset him, now. (49) Cum. (J.Ar.), Cum.4 (50) s.Wil. I have known the principle of hard-stocking carried to an injurious length, Marshall Review (1817) V. 224. (51) e.An. (B. & H.) (52) Kcd. O get to me a cloak of cloth, A staff of good hard tree, Maidment Garl. (1824) 30, ed. 1868. (53) Lakel.2 Spring watter 'at jikes when ye wesh in 't. n.Lin.1, Oxf. (G.O.) (54) e.Yks.1 Twea pund, hahd weight, MS. add. (T.H.) Sus. I weighted a carp... and it proved 2 lbs. hard weight, Marchant Diary (1714-1728) in N. & Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. 247. (55) Som. (W.F.R.) (56, a) Kcd. The whole of this is thickly planted with deciduous trees, or what is here called hard wood; its distinction from the evergreens or firs, whose timber is comparatively softer and of less value, Agric. Surv. 343 (Jam.). Slg. Upwards of 200,000 trees of various kinds, but chiefly of hard wood, that is oak and ash, Agric. Surv. 220. n.Lin.1, w.Som.1 (b) w.Som.1 To be sold, about 100 cords of hard wood, in lots to suit purchasers, Advt. nw.Dev.1 (57) Cum.4, w.Yks.1 (58) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 35. (59, a) Sc. Hard words break no bones (A.W.). Myo. Again he burst out at me... he would send the hard word round the country about me and my leman! Stoker Snake's Pass (1891) xvi. Lakel.2 He gat t'hard-word frae t'maister. Cum.4 (b) Wm. Ah assed him for a shillin', an' he gev mi t'hard-word at yance (B.K.). (c) Ir. So I gives Jack the hard word, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 78. 2. Phr. (1) hard about, (2) hard again, (3) hard at hand, (4) hard by, near, close to; (5) hard enough, sure enough, without doubt, certainly; (6) hard laid on, much oppressed or burdened with work, sickness, &c.; (7) hard on, (a) see (4); (b) nearly, almost, approaching to; (c) hard at work, in full swing; (d) fast asleep; (8) hard to, see (4); (9) hard upon, see (7, b); (10) hard a-gallop, galloping very fast; (11) hard and fast, (a) safely secured, immovable; (b) vigorously, with great energy; with eagerness or determination; (c) see (5); (d) see (7, d); (12) hard and heather bred, hardy, possessed of great vigour and activity; (13) hard and sharp, (a) scarcely, hardly, with difficulty, barely; (b) cruelly, harshly; (c) to a nicety, just right; (d) slightly short in the required weight or size; (14) hard in the mouth, stubborn, obstinate; (15) hard of belief, dubious, doubtful; (16) hard of the feather, used in reference to fighting cocks, fully grown and not soft-feathered; (17) to get it hard, to find it a difficult matter; (18) to be at hard canny, to have a struggle to make both ends meet; (19) to be in hard earnest, to be in sober, downright earnest; (20) to have the hard drop in one, to be penurious, miserly. (1) w.Yks. It's hard about yonder clump of trees (C.C.R.). (2) Lakel.2 It's hard again t'fell sides. Cum.4 Ye'll finnd t'hoose hard agean t'stayshin. n.Wm. Your stick is hard again your nief (B.K.). (3) Som. I was... thinken'’, mabbee, o' thik good-bye as was hard at hand, Leith Verbena (1895) 99. (4) Abd. Hard by the house o' Robie Mill, Forbes Shop Bill (1785) 14. e.Yks.1 w.Yks.5 Hard by t'owd church. Der.2, nw.Der.1 n.Lin. Yalthrup is hard by Bottesford (E.P.). Oxf. (G.O.) (5) n.Yks.2; n.Yks.4 He'll tell tha what he thinks, hard eaneeaf. ne.Yks.1 Aye! that's him hard eneeaf. w.Yks. (Æ.B.); w.Yks.5 ‘I can du it hard eniff.’ A man repairs a clock, and says, when he has concluded his task, ‘Thear, it al go hard eniff now.’ n.Lin. He'll goä hard enif if thoo nobbud axes him (M.P.). (6) Cum.1 Cum.4 w.Yks.1; w.Yks.5 A lad sent to work at the factory when very young is ‘hard-laid on.’ A man emaciated in appearance by illness has ‘bin hard lāad on, poor fellah!’ n.Lin.1, Nhp.1 (7, a) Lakel.2 s.Lin. You'll be hard on it when you reäch the next cross roäds (T.H.R.). (b) Cum.4 It'll be hard on till neet or we git heam. Wm. It'll be hard on ta ten mile ta Penrith (B.K.). Lei.1 It's six o'clock, hard on. War.2 Hard upon three months; War.3 (c) Not.1 Lei.1 Ah'n bin aard on all dee. Shay's aard on at th' o'd man from mornin' to noight an' noight till mornin'. War.3, Oxf. (G.O.) (d) w.Yks. ‘Is t'barn asleep?’ ‘Ay, he's hard on’ (Æ.B.). (8) Cum. I wad fain a seen't cum hard tull us, Borrowdale Lett. in Lonsdale Mag. (Feb. 1867) 309. (9) Slk. It is hard upon the gloamin', Hogg Tales (1838) 68, ed. 1866. Nhp.1 Hard upon eighty. Hmp. ‘How far is it to Christchurch?’ ‘Oh, it's hard upon a mile’ (H.C.M.B.). Som. Hard upon thirty year have I a-bin clerk, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 107. (10) nw.Dev.1 He raud roun' the cornder 'ard-a-gallop. (11, a) n.Yks.2 (b) n.Cy. Yah, ye mun hit it hard an' fast as weel, ta mack a wage (B.K.). Chs. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) (c) n.Yks.2 It is so, hard and fast. (d) n.Cy. Ah was hard an fast asleep (B.K.). w.Yks. (Æ.B.) (12) Nhb. ‘Hard and heather-bred’ ran the ancient North-Tyne slogan; ‘hard and heather-bred ─ yet ─ yet ─ yet,’ Pease Tales (1899) 5; The slogan is actually ‘Hard a----d’ (in allusion to constant training in the saddle)‘ and heather-bred, yit, yit, yit!’ (R.O.H.) (13, a) w.Yks. Ah catched t'train, but it wor hard and sharp (J.T.); w.Yks.1 Hesto mesur, naa matters, it's nobbud hard and sharp. n.Lin.1 I did catch th' traain, bud it was hard an' sharp, she was movin' when I got in. s.Cy. Holloway. w.Som.1 Ees, mum, we was there, but 'twas hard and sharp; the train was jis pon comin' eens we stapt. (b) Ayr. Ne'er grudge an' carp Tho' fortune use you hard an' sharp, Burns Ep. J. Lapraik (Apr. 21, 1785) st. 8. w.Yks.1 Not often rare used in this sense. (c) w.Yks.5 A shop-keeper who gives standing weight and not a draw, manages matters ‘hard an' sharp.’ A policeman who lays his hand upon the shoulder of a man stepping into a railway carriage, as the train is beginning to move, is ‘hard an' sharp upon his customer,’ or, the capture is a ‘hard an' sharp’ one, ─ done to a nicety. (d) Wm. He sez ther's a steean o' taties e that pooak, but they'll be hard an' sharp seea many (B.K.). n.Yks.2 e.Yks.1 There was hard an' sharp of a bushel of them, MS. add. (T.H.) (14) Glo. Noa, thay 'oodn't 'gree to't, not they. ‘Ye be dalled hard in the mouth,’ says Willum, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) iv. (15) n.Yks. (T.S.) (16) Cum.1 (17) Wmh. Did you get it hard to pay yourrint? (S.A.B.) (18) n.Yks.2 A person is said to be at hard canny, who has to struggle ‘to make ends meet.’ (19) s.Dur. He's in hard-earnest (J.E.D.). (20) Ir. An' would stand his treat as well as another; but now see what he is!.. It was... no aisy matther to get him into a trate;... he had always the hard drop in him, Carleton Fardorougha (1848) Introd. ii. 3. adj. Hardy, enduring; not sensitive to pain; daring, bold, resolute. Cum.1 He's as hard as a fell teàdd; Cum.4 n.Yks.1 He's bodden a vast; he wur a desput hard man iv's yowth. ‘Thae's hard lahtle chaps; they heed it na mair an nowght’; of some young boys who had had several teeth out without a cry or a wry face. e.Yks. As hahd as a grund tooad, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 19. (C.C.R.); ‘It al mack uz hard, this will,’ answered Polly, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1852) 43. s.Chs.1 Aa-r yùng Ben)z ŭz aa·rd ŭz nee·lz; yŭ mi rùn ŭ pin in·tŭ im ŭn ey wù)n·ŭ shuwt [Ahr young Ben's as hard as neels; yŏ may run a pin into him an hey wunna showt]. nw.Der. Hence Hardness, sb. strength, applied to the voice. n.Lin.1 ‘I shooted wi' all my hardness,’ that is, I called as loud as I could. 4. Big, strong, robust, well-grown; growing, full-grown. s.Cy. (Hall.) I.W.1 ‘He's a gurt hard bwoy,’ he's a strong robust lad; I.W.2 Dor. The youngest son hizzelf a hard bwoy o' nine, Why John (Coll. L.L.B.); A ‘hard boy’ means a boy of such an age and stoutness as to be able to do almost or quite a man's work, a boy from 16 to 19 years of age (O.P.C.); Barnes Gl. (1863). Som. Hard people, adults, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825); Full grown, as hard stock or sheep. Hardboy, a boy of about 13 years old, W. & J. Gl. (1873); (W.F.R.) w.Som.1 The word does not mean full-grown ─ it rather means growing. A ‘hard boy’ is a most common description of a strong lad, fit to work. So we hear of a ‘hard colt,’ ‘hard slips’ (young pigs of either sex), a ‘hard maid’ ─ this means a strong, growing lass. Hence Hardish, adj. strong, robust, well-grown. Wil. When I wur up a ardish bwoy, Rhymes, 5th S. 136; (G.E.D.) Dor.1 When I wer up a hardish lad, 254. Som. When he was up a hardish lad, and without thought, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 207; Joseph Pierce! whom he had known from the first ─ who was up a hardish lad when he was a child, RAYMOND Men o' Mendip (1898) iii. 5. Close-fisted, grasping, penurious, miserly; covetous. Per. We a' ken ye for a hard thrifty body at winna spend yer ain, gin ye can finger ither folks, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 60, ed. 1887. Ayr. As he grew up he was counted a hard man, Service Notandums (1890) 9. Lnk. I'm surely no so desperate hard as a' that, Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 120. Ir. I was never much acquainted with the Donovans. I'm tould they're a hard pack, that loves the money, Carleton Fardorougha (1848) i. N.I.1 n.Yks.4 He's a hard un ti bargain wi'. w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703); w.Yks.4 6. Of spirits: strong, undiluted, raw. Abd. Ye're maybe jist as weel nae to meddle wi' the hard stuff till your beard's a bit langer, Greig Logie o' Buchan (1899) 10. Ir. You must put a grain o' shugar an' a dhrop o' bilin' wather to it. It may do very well hard for the servants, Carleton Fardorougha (1848) i. N.I.1 [Aus. To those who are used to it cool bitter beer goes well in any kind of weather. Anything is better than the confounded hard stuff! Boldrewood Colon. Reformer (1890) I. viii.] Hence Hard, sb. whisky, esp. in phr. the hard. Inv. (H.E.F.) Lnk. Ne'er a sup o' saft or hard to drink But ginger, lemonade, an' sic-like trash, Coghill Poems (1890) 129. 7. Of ale or beer: sour, acid, sharp. Sc. (A.W.) Lakel.2 This yal's as hard as a whinstun. Cum.1 Wm. T'leetnin' turned t'yal hard (B.K.). n.Yks.1, w.Yks.1, Chs.1, s.Chs.1, Der.2, nw.Der.1 n.Lin.1 This aale o' yours is uncommon hard. s.Lin. The aäle's gone that hard the men saä' they weänt drink eny moore on it (T.H.R.). Nhp.1 The beer is hard. War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.1 Good hard cider's best to work by. 8. Half-drunk. Yks. (Hall.), w.Yks.4 9. A term used in fitting in joinery, masonry, &c.; see below. Cai.1 Having certain inequalities of surface which prevent close contact at parts. At such places the surfaces are said to be hard, i.e. something must be pared off to make a perfect fit. Abd. When two pieces of wood, &c. that are to be fitted together, are close at one place and not at another, they are said to be hard where they thus come into close contact (Jam.). Hence Hard, sb. the place where two pieces of wood join too closely together. Abd. (JAM.) 10. Convex as opposed to concave. w.Som.1 In planing a true surface, any convex part is said to be hard; if concave, ‘slack.’ nw.Dev.1 Used in mow-making in the sense of convex. ‘I zim the moo's purty hard jis' yur,’ i.e. certain sheaves project at this point. 11. adv. Of the wind: fiercely, strongly. Sc. (A.W.) Lakel.2 When t'wind blows hard frae Stowgill eyast. Cum.4, Yks. (J.W.) 12. Tightly, firmly, securely. Sh.I. He put on his waescot, an' tied da tow o' his left rivlin a corn harder, Sh. News (Aug. 7, 1897). e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 66. 13. Quickly, very fast. N.I.1 Now run hard. e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 66 w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.1 Th' gress'll graw hard enif noo this sup o' raain's cum'd. ne.Wor. He allus goes as 'ard as 'e can tear (J.W.P.). Cor. Then I up on my horse and galloped away as hard as I could, Baring-Gould Vicar (1876) vi. 14. Loudly, out loud; aloud. Dev. A farmer, on being asked to read through a document before signing it, said to me, ‘Must I read it hard?’ Reports Provinc. (1897); Speak harder for I can't hear you, Reports Provinc. (1884) 20; ‘Whot's Bet blazing about now, then?’ ‘Aw, I dawn't know; 'tez the likes ov she tü holly za 'ard's 'er can,’ Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 53; Dev.1 Than telling to hiszell, and bamby out hard, 2. nw.Dev.1 Spaik harder; I can't yur ee. 15. Much. n.Yks.4 It ficked that hard, whahl Ah c'u'dn't ho'd it. w.Yks. (J.W.) Chs.3 Oo fretted very hard. 16. Obs. Too. Hrf. ‘Hard high,’ too high. ‘Hard low,’ too low, Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) 101. 17. sb. Fig. Difficulty, hardship, esp. in phr. to come through the hard, to encounter difficulties, experience adverse fortune. Sc. (Jam.) Abd. A plain North-country bard, Who fain would cripple thro' the hard, Shirrefs Sale Catal. (1795) 3. Lnk. The bits o' bairns run a great risk o' coming through the hard, Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 73. Hence Hardship, sb. a difficulty, strait. Sh.I. He was tellin me what a hardship he was in fir meal dis year, afore he got it aff da eart, Stewart Tales (1892) 17. 18. pl. That part of boiled food which sticks to the pot; thin, hard cakes that come off the sides of a pot in which porridge, &c. has been prepared. Also in form hardens. Lnk. (Jam.) 19. pl. The calx of coal from a forge; very hard iron cinders. e.An.1, Suf.1, e.Suf. (F.H.) 20. A firm foreshore or gravelly landing-place in a harbour or creek; a wharf, landing-place. Nhb. The ‘Brotherly Love’ wis lyin on the hard at Alum House Ham (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 Ess. Under the cliff was a good beach, termed a ‘hard,’ Baring-Gould Mehalah (1885) 3. Hmp.1 Cor. Tarring of boats on the hard, Pearce Inconsequent Lives 22. [At four minutes to three the Cambridge crew left the Leander hard, Standard (Mar. 28, 1887) 3.] 21. A hard patch of land in a marsh; land bordering the turf-moor marshes. Also used attrib. Nhp.2 Applied in the fenny districts to those patches of land which, from superior elevation, or other causes, remain hard and dry during the winter season. Cmb. Leaving the hurds of Denny Abbey upon the east, Reports Agric. (1793-1813) 129. Nrf. That warn't no swamp mash, but a hard mash, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 197; The swan dearly loves a ‘hard’ covered with weed, EMERSON Birds (ed. 1895) 215; (P.H.E.) [It consists of a flat, interspersed with small elevations and hills, which, to distinguish from the flat are called hard lands, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 490.] 22. The stoned part of a road as distinguished from the sides. Lin. The middle of a road is... called ‘the hard’ to distinguish it from the sides, which are not stoned. There was a trial at Lincoln assizes concerning certain encroachments... made on a highway... One chief matter in dispute was whether land had been taken in within fifteen feet of the middle of the ‘hard.’ The ‘hard’ is sometimes used to distinguish a raised footpath from the rest of the highway. This however is uncommon, N. & Q. (1881) 6th S. iv. 38. n.Lin.1 23. A small marble. Som. (Hall.) 24. pl. Torches made of rags dipped in tar. Sc. When rags dipped in tar are employed [as torches] they are called Hards, probably from the French, Scott Guy M. (1815) xxvi, note.

HARD, see Earth, sb.1, Herd, sb.

HARD, adj. and sb. Sc. Irel. Wm. Pem. e.An. Ken.

1. adj. In comb. (1) Hard-bellied herring, a female herring; (2) Hard fruit, apples and pears; (3) Hard-nickle down, a game of marbles; (4) Hard path, a permanent pathway. (1) Wm. (B.K.) (2) Ken.1 (s.v. Stone fruit). (3) Abd. We all played... with the ‘bools’ at the ‘winning ring,’‘ kypie,’ and ‘hard nickle doon,’ W. Watson Auld Lang Syne (1903) 31. (4) e.An.1 (s.v. Soft path).
2. sb. In phr. in the hard, hard-worked. s.Pem. 'Tis churning and hay-making, we're in the hard to day (M.S.C.).
3. Tobacco in a cake. Also used attrib. Ker. Packages of shag tobacco, lumps of sweetened ‘hard,’ Bartram W. Boy (1898) 102; A lump of hard tobacco, Bartram W. Boy 105.