hardscrabble


hard·scrab·ble

adj \ˈhärd-ˌskra-bəl\

Definition of HARDSCRABBLE

1
a : being or relating to a place of barren or barely arable soil <a hardscrabble farm> <hardscrabble prairies> b : getting a meager living from poor soil <a hardscrabble farmer>
2
: marked by poverty <a hardscrabble cotton town> <a hardscrabble childhood>

Examples of HARDSCRABBLE

  1. He lived a hardscrabble life.
  2. <it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands>

First Known Use of HARDSCRABBLE

1804

Rhymes with HARDSCRABBLE

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