hard luck

1. Misfortune, adversity, as in He's had a lot of hard luck in his day. This expression is also used in the phrase hard-luck story, a tale of one's misfortune that is related in order to get sympathy (or a donation). For example, We can't ignore her hard-luck story, even if you doubt that it's true. [Second half of 1500s] Also see tough break.

Related Words

• adversity 
• affliction 
• bad luck 
• calamity 
• cataclysm 
• catastrophe 
• debacle 
• disadvantage 
• disappointment 
• discomfort 
• hardship 
• inconvenience 
• misadventure 
• misery 
• mishap 
• setback 
• tragedy 
• tribulation