[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./

[hate one’s guts]{v. phr.}, {slang} To feel a very strong dislike for someone. •/Dick said that he hated Fred’s guts because Fred had been very mean to him./

[hats off to] or [one’s hat is off to] {truncated phr.}, {informal} Used to recognize and praise a job well-done. •/Hats off to anyone who runs the twenty-six mile race./ •/My hat is off to the chef who created this delicious meal./ Compare: TAKE OFF ONE’S HAT TO.

[hatter] See: MAD AS A HATTER.

[haul] See: LONG HAUL.

[haul down]{v.}, {informal} 1. To catch (as a ball) usually after a long run. •/Willie hauled down a long fly to center field for the third out./ •/The star halfback hauled down the pass for a touchdown./ 2. To tackle in football. •/Ted was hauled down from behind when he tried to run with the ball./

[haul down one’s colors] or [strike one’s colors] {v. phr.} 1. To pull down a flag, showing you are beaten and want to stop fighting. •/After a long battle, the pirate captain hauled down his colors./ 2. To admit you are beaten; say you want to quit. •/After losing two sets of tennis, Tom hauled down his color./

[haul in] or [haul up] or [pull in] {v.}, {slang} To bring before someone in charge for punishment or questioning; arrest. •/John was hauled in to court for speeding./ •/The tramp was hauled up for sleeping on the sidewalk./ Compare: CALL ON THE CARPET.