[hangover]{n.} A bad feeling of nausea and/or headache the day after one has had too much to drink. •/Boy, did I have a hangover after that party yesterday!/

[hang over]{v.} 1. To be going to happen to; threaten. •/Great trouble hangs over the little town because its only factory has closed down./ 2. To remain to be finished or settled. •/The committee took up the business that hung over from its last meeting./

[hang over one’s head]{v. phr.} To be a danger or threat to you. — An overused phrase. •/Over Jimmy’s head hung the teacher’s suspicion that Jimmy had cheated in the final examination./ •/Death hangs over a bullfighter’s head every time he performs./

[hang round] See: HANG AROUND.

[hang ten]{v.}, {slang} 1. To be an outstanding performer on a surfboard or on a skateboard (referring to the user’s ten toes). •/I bet I am going to be able to hang ten if you let me practice on your skateboard./ 2. To be a survivor despite great odds. •/Don’t worry about Jack, he can hang ten anywhere!/

[hang together]{v.} 1. To stay united; help and defend one another. •/The club members always hung together when one of them was in trouble./ Syn.: STICK TOGETHER. Compare: STAND BY, STAND UP FOR. 2. {informal} To form a satisfactory whole; fit together. •/Jack’s story of why he was absent from school seems to hang together./

[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.