hardscrabble

[hahrd-skrab-uh l]

adjective

providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding: the hardscrabble existence of mountainside farmers.

Origin of hardscrabble

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; hard + scrabble

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

Examples from the Web for hardscrabble

Contemporary Examples of hardscrabble

Their harrowing escape to Erbil has ended in a precarious and hardscrabble existence.
Church Bells Fall Silent in Mosul as Iraq’s Christians Flee
Andrew Doran, Drew Bowling
June 29, 2014
But this hardscrabble, prairie town, with its population of 5,000 people, cast its charm on Ballantine.
Death in the Heartland: What Happened to Steven Haataja?
Tim Teeman
March 16, 2014
For many fans, her hardscrabble youth and rough-and-tumble style were viewed as endearing strengths.
ESPN’s ‘The Price of Gold’ Revisits the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan Scandal
Amy Zimmerman
January 15, 2014
At Big Valley, a co-ed pre-K-12 in hardscrabble Modesto, Calif., the trip to Washington D.C. has been an annual rite of passage.
The Sequester Ruined Our Eighth-Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.
David Freedlander
March 19, 2013
In his hardscrabble campaign, there might not even have been a podium ready to welcome him.
What Newt Gingrich Can Do for Mitt Romney
Matt Latimer
August 9, 2012

Historical Examples of hardscrabble

I've come into possession of a house which might suit you—'Hardscrabble.'
Reels and Spindles
Evelyn Raymond
“We need not be afraid of Hardscrabble winds any more, papa,” said David.
The Inglises
Margaret Murray Robertson
The village of Podunk looks down on the neighboring town of Hardscrabble.
The Galaxy
Various
Mo Mercer was the oracle of the renowned village of Hardscrabble.
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume V. (of X.)
Various
Hardscrabble, flushed and swollen with importance, stepped forward.
The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise
Margaret Burnham

British Dictionary definitions for hardscrabble

hardscrabble

noun US informal

(modifier) (of a place) difficult to make a living in; barren
great effort made in the face of difficulties

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 hardscrabble

adj.

1804, U.S. colloquial, the name of an imaginary barren place "where a livelihood may be obtained only under great hardship and difficulty;" from hard + scrabble. First recorded in journals of Lewis and Clark. Perhaps the original notion is "vigorous effort made under great stress," though this sense is recorded slightly later (1812).