hard-put
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of hard-put
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
If it’s possible to work around a no-beard policy when the stakes are life and death, I’m hard-put to imagine a job where accommodation isn’t possible.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 15, 2022
I’m hard-put to advise today’s graduates on how to succeed in the workplace.
From Washington Post ● May 26, 2022
You will be hard-put to find the Mart mentioned in the literature about what Thomas Mann dubbed “German California.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2022
If that didn’t happen, I’m hard-put to explain exactly how this scene came together.
From The Verge ● Aug. 28, 2017
Note 18, page 25: Scouts who are in camp or on the trail without fish-hooks and are hard-put to catch fish, may try an old Indian and scout method.
From Pluck on the Long Trail Boy Scouts in the Rockies by Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand) Sabin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
