hard luck

Idioms

Misfortune, adversity, as in He's had a lot of hard luck in his day. This expression is also used in the phrase hard-luck story, a tale of one's misfortune that is related in order to get sympathy (or a donation). For example, We can't ignore her hard-luck story, even if you doubt that it's true. [Second half of 1500s] Also see tough break.

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.

It was hard luck on Hanley, whose clearance was going out for a corner until it struck Krul who was still stationed at his near post.

From BBC

You'd have hard luck trying to convince someone that trees are somehow biased.

From Salon

Was this to be a hard luck story?

From The Guardian

This kind of hard luck is outrageous, even for them, but it won’t stop the NFL train.

From Washington Post

Its hard luck stories are often plain to see.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023