[hard of hearing]{adj.} Partially deaf. •/Some people who are hardof hearing wear hearing aids./

[hard-on]{n.}, {vulgar}, {avoidable}. An erection of the malesexual 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 excusefor his lateness in coming to school./ •/The scouts found themselves hardput to it to find the way home./

[hard row to hoe] or [tough row to hoe] {n. phr.} A hard life tolive; a very hard job to do. •/She has a hard row to hoe with six childrenand her husband dead./ •/Young people without enough education will have atough 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 characterizedby great vigor, aggressive persuasion, and great eagerness on the part of theperson selling something; opposed to "soft sell". •/Your hard sell turns offa 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 hardsledding in her math course because she was poorly prepared./ •/When Mr.Smith started his new business, he had tough sledding for a while but thingsgot better./

[hard-top]{n.} 1. A car that has a metal roof; a car that is not aconvertible. •/Every spring Mr. Jones sells his hard-top and buys aconvertible./ 2. or [hardtop convertible] A car with windows that can becompletely lowered with no partitions left standing, and with a top that may ormay not be lowered. •/Mr. Brown’s new car is a hardtop convertible./

[hard up]{adj.}, {informal} Without enough money or some otherneeded 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 tosolve a problem, do something, or learn something. — Used with "the". •/Themayor refused the help of the crooks and won the election the hard way by goingout to meet the people./ •/The challenger found out the hard way that thechampion’s left hand had to be avoided./

[hare] See: MAD AS A HATTER or MAD AS A MARCH HARE, RUN WITH THE HARE ANDHUNT (RIDE) WITH THE HOUNDS.

[harebrained]{adj.} Thoughtless; foolish. •/Most of the harebrainedthings Ed does may be attributable to his youth and lack of experience./

[hark back]{v.}, {literary} 1. To recall or turn back to anearlier time or happening. •/Judy is always harking back to the good timesshe 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 rodehorseback./

[harp away at] or [on] {v.} To mention again and again. •/In hiscampaign 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 orreckless way. •/Jim does his homework harum-scarum, and that is why hisschoolwork is so poor./

[harum-scarum(2)]{adj.}, {informal} Careless, wild, or disorderlyin one’s acts or performance; reckless. •/Jack is such a harum-scarum boythat 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 areserved. •/Joe and his friends went to a hash house around the corner afterthe 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 togetherand hash out their differences./ •/The students hashed out the matter anddecided to drop it./

[hash up]{v.}, {slang} 1. To make a mess of; do badly. •/Bobreally 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 oldbitterness against her schoolmates./

[haste] See: MAKE HASTE.

[hat] See: AT THE DROP OF A HAT, BRASS HAT, HANG ON TO YOUR HAT or HOLD ONTO YOUR HAT or HOLD YOUR HAT, HIGH-HAT, KEEP UNDER ONE’S HAT, OLD HAT, PULL OUTOF A HAT, TAKE OFF ONE’S HAT TO, TALK THROUGH ONE’S HAT, TEN-GALLON HAT, THROWONE’S HAT IN THE RING.

[hat in hand]{adv. phr.}, {informal} In a humble and respectfulmanner. •/They went hat in hand to the old woman to ask for her secretrecipe./

[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 personwith such a face. •/Johnny was sent to the principal’s office because hecalled his teacher old hatchet face./ •/He was hatchet-faced and not at allhandsome./

[hatchet job]{n. phr.}, {slang} 1. The act of saying or writingterrible things about someone or something, usually on behalf of one’s boss ororganization. •/When Phil makes speeches against the competition exaggeratingtheir weaknesses, he is doing the hatchet job on behalf of our president./ 2.A ruthless, wholesale job of editing a script whereby entire paragraphs orpages are omitted. •/Don, my editor, did a hatchet job on my new novel./

[hatchet man]{n.}, {colloquial} 1. A politician or newspapercolumnist whose job is to write and say unfavorable things about theopposition. •/Bill Lerner is the hatchet man for the Mayor’s Party; he smearsall the other candidates regularly./ 2. An executive officer in a firm whosejob it is to fire superfluous personnel, cut back on the budget, etc., inshort, to do the necessary but unpleasant things. •/The firm hired Cranhartto be hatchet man; his title is that of Executive Vice President./

[hate one’s guts]{v. phr.}, {slang} To feel a very strong dislikefor someone. •/Dick said that he hated Fred’s guts because Fred had been verymean 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 toanyone who runs the twenty-six mile race./ •/My hat is off to the chef whocreated 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 aftera long run. •/Willie hauled down a long fly to center field for the thirdout./ •/The star halfback hauled down the pass for a touchdown./ 2. Totackle in football. •/Ted was hauled down from behind when he tried to runwith the ball./

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

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