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hard time
noun
a period of difficulties or hardship.
Slang.time actually served in a prison or other penal institution.
He had merely been fined before, but now was sentenced to 90 days' hard time in the county jail.
Informal.give a hard time, to bother, annoy, or harass.
He gave me a hard time about the money I owe him.
Word History and Origins
Origin of hard time1
Idioms and Phrases
Also, hard times . A period of difficulty or hardship, especially financial hardship. For example, Since Mom died, Christmas has been a hard time for Dad , or It's been hard times for both of them since they split up . It is also put as have a hard time , as in I'm having a hard time finishing this book . Charles Dickens used Hard Times as the title of a novel about poverty (1854). A more recent version is have a time of it , which despite its ambiguity (not specifying either “good” or “bad”) nearly always means “experiencing difficulty”; for example, We had quite a time of it in that hurricane . [Late 1300s]
give someone a hard time . Annoy or harass someone. For example, Don't let him give you a hard time; he's often late himself . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
Example Sentences
"They’re having a hard time with electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidies," he said, later adding that he was considering cancelling Musk's government contracts.
She said her father is the family’s “breadwinner,” and without his paycheck, there are “hard times coming” for her and her three brothers.
“I just have a hard time believing something could be a rivalry when there’s no stakes,” he said.
"You have loved me through all my good and hard times. And I don't want this to be any different."
“I think a lot of people have a hard time believing that the frivolous, ‘whatever’ content they're watching is potentially affecting their fundamental beliefs about American politics.”
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