hard time

noun

1. a period of difficulties or hardship.

2. Slang.,  time actually served in a prison or other penal institution.

   He had merely been fined before, but now was sentenced to 90 days' hard time in the county jail.

3. Informal.,  give a hard time, to bother, annoy, or harass.

   He gave me a hard time about the money I owe him.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard time¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Idioms and Phrases

Also, hard times . A period of difficulty or hardship, especially financial hardship. For example, Since Mom died, Christmas has been a hard time for Dad , or It's been hard times for both of them since they split up . It is also put as have a hard time , as in I'm having a hard time finishing this book . Charles Dickens used Hard Times as the title of a novel about poverty (1854). A more recent version is have a time of it , which despite its ambiguity (not specifying either “good” or “bad”) nearly always means “experiencing difficulty”; for example, We had quite a time of it in that hurricane . [Late 1300s]

give someone a hard time . Annoy or harass someone. For example, Don't let him give you a hard time; he's often late himself . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]

Related Words

• admonition 
• censure 
• condemnation 
• disapproval 
• punishment 
• rebuff 
• reproach 
• snub