hard as nails

Idioms and Phrases

Unyielding, callous, unsympathetic, as in Don't ask her for a contribution—she's hard as nails . This expression has replaced the 14th-century simile hard as flint stone and presumably alludes to the rigidity of nails.

Example Sentences

How she come to be related to that hard-as-nails Joe Stagg is a puzzler.

From Project Gutenberg

"Hard-as-nails" the girls sometimes called her, for she coddled nobody and expected the utmost from each one's capacity.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• endurance
• grit
• persistence
• stamina
• staying power