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• hard case
  hard case

  noun

  a rough, hard-bitten person.
• hard-case
  hard-case

  adjective

  rough and hard-bitten.

hard case

¹ American  

noun

1. a rough, hard-bitten person.

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hard-case ² American  

[hahrd-keys] / ˈhɑrdˌkeɪs /

adjective

1. rough and hard-bitten.

   hard-case juvenile delinquents.

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Etymology

Origin of hard case¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Origin of hard-case²

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hard case hard-case

Even in the handful of places where homeowners can argue they are being unfairly assessed based on another assessment, such as Iowa, it’s a hard case to win, she said.

From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026

This is usually gratifying work, but in “Vigil” she encounters a hard case: the oil baron K.J.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The chief judge of the 5th Circuit, Priscilla Richman, wrote the majority opinion and basically just quoted big chunks of the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision to show that this is not a hard case.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2024

“Given the nature of what happened here, the use of a search function to look at tweets, I think that’s a hard case to make,” Quinn said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024

If you don’t know how, you can end up out of control or controlled by some outside thing like that hard case last winter.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival player Ha Na Jang's father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

From US News ● Apr. 2, 2016

Women's Open champion was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that Jang's father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

From US News ● Apr. 1, 2016

She was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 30, 2016

Working for someone else is always a problem, especially if you are a hard-case as I am.

From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2014

He's goin' to be a rough, hard case to tame, Sam, that Giant Wolf of yours; but he's come to a hard-case tamer, too, and don't you forget it.

From Finn The Wolfhound by Robert Hugh Buxton