hard-boiled
Americanadjective
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Cooking. (of an egg) boiled in the shell long enough for the yolk and white to solidify.
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Informal. tough; unsentimental.
a hard-boiled vice-squad detective.
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marked by a direct, clear-headed approach; realistic.
a hard-boiled appraisal of the foreign situation.
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(of detective fiction) written in a laconic, dispassionate, often ironic style for a realistic, unsentimental effect.
adjective
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(of an egg) boiled until the yolk and white are solid
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informal
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tough, realistic
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cynical
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hard-boiled
1715–25; 1895–80 hard-boiled for def. 2; hard + boiled
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hard boiled, cynical, funny, romantic, everything you could possibly want.
From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2012
Hard boiled readers will find it like the curate' s egg.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hard boiled eggs can be used as a garnish.
From The Suffrage Cook Book by Kleber, L. O., Mrs.
The Hard boiled omnibus; early stories from Black mask.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1973 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
Hard boiled ones require from fifteen to twenty minutes.
From Maintaining Health Formerly Health and Efficiency by Alsaker, R. L.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
