rough on, be

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Be harmful to or difficult for, as in The harsh winter has been rough on the highways, or Their divorce was rough on the whole family.

Treat harshly, be severe with, as in The police have been very rough on house-breakers, or Don't be too rough on Sam; he's only a child. Both colloquial usages date from the second half of the 1800s.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Words nearby rough on, be

Bernoulli trials, Bernstein, Bernstein, Leonard, Bernstein test, Bernstorff, rough on, be, Berra, berretta, berried, Berrigan, berry

How to use rough on, be in a sentence

Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Could the (thus far) timid trembling give way to a full-on, grand mal seizure?
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
"Buy something for your wife that-is-to-be," he said to his grand-nephew, as he handed him the folded paper.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The camp grew still, except for the rough and ready cook pottering about the fire, boiling buffalo-meat and mixing biscuit-dough.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
It was only a hut of rough boards, carelessly knocked together for a shepherd's temporary home.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
He reached up for her big, rough straw hat that hung on a peg outside the door, and put it on her head.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
England proclaimed a rough indignation at the demand for Gibraltar, which Austria had made in behalf of Spain.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter