hard-nosed

or hard·nosed

[hahrd-nohzd]

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adjective Informal.

hardheaded or tough; unsentimentally practical: a hard-nosed labor leader.

Origin of hard-nosed

First recorded in 1885–90

Synonyms for hard-nosed

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realistic, down-to-earth; intractable, rigid, stubborn, inflexible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hard-nosed

uncompromising, hardheaded, no-nonsense, hard-boiled, tough-minded, bullheaded, inflexible, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, pigheaded, stubborn, tough, unsentimental

Examples from the Web for hard-nosed

Contemporary Examples of hard-nosed

Normally an air accident investigation would involve a swarm of hard-nosed engineers and scientists poring over wreckage.
The New Fear of Flying After MH370
Clive Irving
March 31, 2014
Hard-nosed criticism is squeezed out by soft stories, gossip and fluff.
Music Criticism Has Degenerated Into Lifestyle Reporting
Ted Gioia
March 18, 2014
“Politics is a hard-nosed game, and the right has been playing Marquess of Queensbury Rules for a long time on this,” he said.
Al Sharpton, ‘PoliticsNation’ Advertisers Targeted in New Boycott
David Freedlander
October 7, 2013
Documents released by the British archives reveal Thatcher as a hard-nosed opponent of Israel's West Bank settlement project.
What Kind Of Friend To Israel Was Thatcher?
Ali Gharib
April 8, 2013
To me this would demonstrate a hard-nosed determination that all citizens should find frightening.
Why I Fear the Aryan Brotherhood—and You Should, Too
Anonymous
April 1, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for hard-nosed

hard-nosed

adjective

informal tough, shrewd, and practical

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hard-nosed

adj.

"stubborn," 1927, from hard + nose (n.). Earlier of bullets or shells with hard tips, and of dogs that had difficulty following a scent. Not in common use before 1950s, when it begins to be used of tough or relentless characters generally (Damon Runyon characters, U.S. Marines, Princeton professors, etc.). Soft-nosed seems to have been used only of bullets.