Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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[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./