go hard with

1. Fare ill, be to one's harm or disadvantage. For example, If this case gets to a jury, it will go hard with the defendant. [First half of 1500s]

Example Sentences

It's tantamount to admitting that violence and fear not only rule our lives but will continue to do so in ever more horrific ways and that the only solution is to go hard with even more "security" and even more guns.

From Salon

“For that matter,” replied the old woman, “if you mean about the gentleman you murdered, I believe that it were better for you if you were dead, for I fancy it will go hard with you! However, that’s none of my business; I am sent to nurse you and get you well; I do my duty with a safe conscience; it were well if everybody did the same.”

From Literature

If you don't trust yourself not to go hard with the scrubbing, it's also totally fine to skip this step altogether.

From Salon

At the weekend, Ardern showed she is capable of matching kindness with steely resolve, announcing New Zealand would “go early and go hard”, with immediate border controls requiring all entrants to the country to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.

From The Guardian

I play a little bit of everything during that first hour so I can determine what people are gravitating toward and then go hard with that later.

From New York Times