[hang up]{v.} 1. To place on a hook, peg, or hanger. •/When the children come to school, they hang up their coats in the cloakroom./ 2a. To place a telephone receiver back on its hook and break the connection. •/Carol’s mother told her she had talked long enough on the phone and made her hang up./ 2b. To put a phone receiver back on its hook while the other person is still talking. — Used with "on". •/I said something that made Joe angry, and he hung up on me./ 3a. {informal} To cause to be stuck or held so as to be immovable. — Usually used in the passive. •/Ann’s car was hung up in a snowdrift and she had to call a garageman to get it out./ 3b. {informal} To stick or get held so as to be immovable. •/A big passenger ship hung up on a sandbar for several hours./ 4. {informal} To cause a wait; delay. •/Rehearsals for the school play were hung up by the illness of some of the actors./ 5. {informal} To set (a record.) •/Bob hung up a school record for long distance swimming./
[hang-up]{n.}, {informal} (stress on "hang") 1. A delay in some process. •/The mail has been late for several days; there must be some hang-up with the trucks somewhere./ 2. A neurotic reaction to some life situation probably stemming from a traumatic shock which has gone unconscious. •/Doctor Simpson believes that Suzie’s frigidity is due to some hang-up about men./
[happen on] or [happen upon] {v.}, {literary} To meet or find accidentally or by chance. •/The Girl Scouts happened on a charming little brook not far from the camp./ •/At the convention I happened upon an old friend I had not seen for years./ Syn.: CHANCE ON, COME ACROSS(1),(3). Compare: HIT ON.
[happy] See: STRIKE A HAPPY MEDIUM, TRIGGER HAPPY at QUICK ON THE TRIGGER.
[happy as the day is long]{adj. phr.} Cheerful and happy. •/Carl is happy as the day is long because school is over for the summer./
[happy-go-lucky] See: FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY-FREE.
[happy hour]{n.}, {informal} A time in bars or restaurants when cocktails are served at a reduced rate, usually one hour before they start serving dinner. •/Happy hour is between 6 and 7 P.M. at Celestial Gardens./
[happy hunting ground]{n. phr.} 1. The place where, in American Indian belief, a person goes after death; heaven. •/The Indians believed that at death they went to the happy hunting ground./ 2. {informal} A place or area where you can find a rich variety of what you want, and plenty of it. •/The forest is a happy hunting ground for scouts who are interested in plants and flowers./ •/Shell collectors find the ocean beaches happy hunting grounds./
[hard] See: GIVE A HARD TIME, GO HARD WITH, SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS.
[hard-and-fast]{adj.} Not to be broken or changed; fixed; strict. •/The teacher said that there was a hard-and-fast rule against smoking in the school./
[hard as nails]{adj. phr.}, {informal} 1. Not flabby or soft; physically very fit; tough and strong. •/After a summer of work in the country, Jack was as hard as nails, without a pound of extra weight./ 2. Not gentle or mild; rough; stern. •/Johnny works for a boss who is as hard as nails and scolds Johnny roughly whenever he does something wrong./
[hard-boiled]{adj.} Unrefined; tough; merciless. •/"Because you were two minutes late," my hard-boiled boss cried, "I will deduct fifteen minutes worth from your salary!"/
[hard cash] See: COLD CASH.
[hard feeling]{n.} Angry or bitter feeling; enmity. — Usually used in the plural. •/Jim asked Andy to shake hands with him, just to show that there were no hard feelings./ •/Bob and George once quarreled over a girl, and there are still hard feelings between them./
[hard-fisted]{adj.} 1. Able to do hard physical labor; strong. •/Jack’s uncle was a hard-fisted truck driver with muscles of steel./ 2. Not gentle or easy-going; tough; stern. •/The new teacher was a hard-fisted woman who would allow no nonsense./ 3. Stingy or mean; not generous with money. •/The hard-fisted banker refused to lend Mr. Jones more money for his business./
[hard going]{adj. phr.} Fraught with difficulty. •/Dave finds his studies of math hard going./
[hardheaded]{adj.} Stubborn; shrewd; practical. •/Don is a hardheaded businessman who made lots of money, even during the recession./
[hardhearted]{adj.} Unsympathetic; merciless. •/Jack is so hardhearted that even his own children expect nothing from him./
[hard-hitting]{adj.} Working hard to get things done; strong and active; stubbornly eager. •/The boys put on a hard-hitting drive to raise money for uniforms for the football team./ •/He is a hard-hitting and successful football coach./
[hard line]{n. phr.} Tough political policy. •/Although modern economists were trying to persuade him to open up to the West, Castro has always taken the hard line approach./
[hard-liner]{n.} A politician who takes the hard line. See: HARD LINE.
[hard luck] See: TOUGH LUCK.
[hardly any] or [scarcely any] Almost no or almost none; very few. •/Hardly any of the students did well on the test, so the teacher explained the lesson again./ •/Charles and his friends each had three cookies, and when they went out, hardly any cookies were left./
[hardly ever] or [scarcely ever] {adv. phr.} Very rarely; almost never; seldom. •/It hardly ever snows in Florida./ •/Johnny hardly ever reads a book./
[hard-nosed]{adj.}, {slang} Tough or rugged; very strict; not weak or soft; stubborn, especially in a fight or contest. •/Joe’s father was a hard-nosed army officer who had seen service in two wars./ •/Pete is a good boy; he plays hard-nosed football./ Compare: HARD-BOILED.
[hard nut to crack] also [tough nut to crack] {n. phr.}, {informal} Something difficult to understand or to do. •/Tom’s algebra lesson was a hard nut to crack./ •/Mary found knitting a hard nut to crack./ Compare: HARD ROW TO HOE.
[hard of hearing]{adj.} Partially deaf. •/Some people who are hard of hearing wear hearing aids./
[hard-on]{n.}, {vulgar}, {avoidable}. An erection of the male sexual organ.
[hard put] or [hard put to it] {adj.} In a difficult position; faced with difficulty; barely able. •/John was hard put to find a good excuse for his lateness in coming to school./ •/The scouts found themselves hard put to it to find the way home./
[hard row to hoe] or [tough row to hoe] {n. phr.} A hard life to live; a very hard job to do. •/She has a hard row to hoe with six children and her husband dead./ •/Young people without enough education will have a tough row to hoe when they have to support themselves./ Syn.: HARD SLEDDING. Compare: DOWN ON ONE’S LUCK, HARD NUT TO CRACK.
[hard sell]{n.}, {informal} A kind of salesmanship characterized by great vigor, aggressive persuasion, and great eagerness on the part of the person selling something; opposed to "soft sell". •/Your hard sell turns off a lot of people; try the soft sell for a change, won’t you?/
[hard sledding] or [rough sledding] or [tough sledding] {n.}, {informal} Difficulty in succeeding or making progress. •/Jane had hard sledding in her math course because she was poorly prepared./ •/When Mr. Smith started his new business, he had tough sledding for a while but things got better./
[hard-top]{n.} 1. A car that has a metal roof; a car that is not a convertible. •/Every spring Mr. Jones sells his hard-top and buys a convertible./ 2. or [hardtop convertible] A car with windows that can be completely lowered with no partitions left standing, and with a top that may or may not be lowered. •/Mr. Brown’s new car is a hardtop convertible./
[hard up]{adj.}, {informal} Without enough money or some other needed thing. •/Dick was hard up and asked Lou to lend him a dollar./ •/The campers were hard up for water because their well had run dry./ Compare: UP AGAINST IT.
[hard way]{n.} The harder or more punishing of two or more ways to solve a problem, do something, or learn something. — Used with "the". •/The mayor refused the help of the crooks and won the election the hard way by going out to meet the people./ •/The challenger found out the hard way that the champion’s left hand had to be avoided./
[hare] See: MAD AS A HATTER or MAD AS A MARCH HARE, RUN WITH THE HARE AND HUNT (RIDE) WITH THE HOUNDS.
[harebrained]{adj.} Thoughtless; foolish. •/Most of the harebrained things Ed does may be attributable to his youth and lack of experience./
[hark back]{v.}, {literary} 1. To recall or turn back to an earlier time or happening. •/Judy is always harking back to the good times she had at camp./ 2. To go back to something as a beginning or origin. •/The cars of today hark back to the first automobiles made about 1900./ •/The slit in the back of a man’s coal harks back to the days when men rode horseback./
[harp away at] or [on] {v.} To mention again and again. •/In his campaign speeches, Jones harps on his rival’s wealth and powerful friends./
[Harry] See: TOM, DICK, AND HARRY.
[harum-scarum(1)]{adv.}, {informal} In a careless, disorderly or reckless way. •/Jim does his homework harum-scarum, and that is why his schoolwork is so poor./
[harum-scarum(2)]{adj.}, {informal} Careless, wild, or disorderly in one’s acts or performance; reckless. •/Jack is such a harum-scarum boy that you can never depend on him to do anything right./
[hash] See: SETTLE ONE’S HASH, SLING HASH.
[hash house]{n.}, {slang} An eating place where cheap meals are served. •/Joe and his friends went to a hash house around the corner after the game./
[hash out]{v.}, {informal} To talk all about and try to agree on; discuss thoroughly. •/The teacher asked Susan and Jane to sit down together and hash out their differences./ •/The students hashed out the matter and decided to drop it./
[hash up]{v.}, {slang} 1. To make a mess of; do badly. •/Bob really hashed up that exam and failed the course./ 2. To bring to life; remember and talk about. •/The teacher advised Sue not to hash up old bitterness against her schoolmates./
[haste] See: MAKE HASTE.
[hat] See: AT THE DROP OF A HAT, BRASS HAT, HANG ON TO YOUR HAT or HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT or HOLD YOUR HAT, HIGH-HAT, KEEP UNDER ONE’S HAT, OLD HAT, PULL OUT OF A HAT, TAKE OFF ONE’S HAT TO, TALK THROUGH ONE’S HAT, TEN-GALLON HAT, THROW ONE’S HAT IN THE RING.
[hat in hand]{adv. phr.}, {informal} In a humble and respectful manner. •/They went hat in hand to the old woman to ask for her secret recipe./
[hatch] See: COUNT ONE’S CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED.
[hatchet] See: BURY THE HATCHET.
[hatchet face]{n.} A long narrow face with sharp parts; also, a person with such a face. •/Johnny was sent to the principal’s office because he called his teacher old hatchet face./ •/He was hatchet-faced and not at all handsome./
[hatchet job]{n. phr.}, {slang} 1. The act of saying or writing terrible things about someone or something, usually on behalf of one’s boss or organization. •/When Phil makes speeches against the competition exaggerating their weaknesses, he is doing the hatchet job on behalf of our president./ 2. A ruthless, wholesale job of editing a script whereby entire paragraphs or pages are omitted. •/Don, my editor, did a hatchet job on my new novel./
[hatchet man]{n.}, {colloquial} 1. A politician or newspaper columnist whose job is to write and say unfavorable things about the opposition. •/Bill Lerner is the hatchet man for the Mayor’s Party; he smears all the other candidates regularly./ 2. An executive officer in a firm whose job it is to fire superfluous personnel, cut back on the budget, etc., in short, to do the necessary but unpleasant things. •/The firm hired Cranhart to be hatchet man; his title is that of Executive Vice President./
