Hard and fast

Hard Hard (h[aum]rd), a. [Compar. {Harder} (-[~e]r); superl. {Hardest}.] [OE. hard, heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D. hard, G. hart, OHG. herti, harti, Icel. har[eth]r, Dan. haard, Sw. h[*a]rd, Goth. hardus, Gr. kraty`s strong, ka`rtos, kra`tos, strength, and also to E. -ard, as in coward, drunkard, -crat, -cracy in autocrat, democracy; cf. Skr. kratu strength, k[.r] to do, make. Cf. {Hardy}.] 1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to material bodies, and opposed to {soft}; as, hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple. [1913 Webster]

2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended, decided, or resolved; as a hard problem. [1913 Webster]

The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex. xviii. 26. [1913 Webster]

In which are some things hard to be understood. --2 Peter iii. 16. [1913 Webster]

3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious; fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to cure. [1913 Webster]

4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful. [1913 Webster]

The stag was too hard for the horse. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]

A power which will be always too hard for them. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms. [1913 Webster]

I never could drive a hard bargain. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding; obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character. [1913 Webster]

7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid; ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style. [1913 Webster]

Figures harder than even the marble itself. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider. [1913 Webster]

9. (Pron.) Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated, sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the organs from one position to another; -- said of certain consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished from the same letters in center, general, etc. [1913 Webster]

10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a hard tone. [1913 Webster]

11. (Painting) (a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition. (b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the coloring or light and shade. [1913 Webster]

{Hard cancer}, {Hard case}, etc. See under {Cancer}, {Case}, etc.

{Hard clam}, or {Hard-shelled clam} (Zo["o]l.), the quahog.

{Hard coal}, anthracite, as distinguished from {bituminous coal} ({soft coal}).

{Hard and fast}. (Naut.) See under {Fast}.

{Hard finish} (Arch.), a smooth finishing coat of hard fine plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.

{Hard lines}, hardship; difficult conditions.

{Hard money}, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper money.

{Hard oyster} (Zo["o]l.), the northern native oyster. [Local, U. S.]

{Hard pan}, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil; hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See {Pan}.

{Hard rubber}. See under {Rubber}.

{Hard solder}. See under {Solder}.

{Hard water}, water, which contains lime or some mineral substance rendering it unfit for washing. See {Hardness}, 3.

{Hard wood}, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak, ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar, hemlock, etc.

{In hard condition}, in excellent condition for racing; having firm muscles; -- said of race horses.

Syn: Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn; stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe; obdurate; rigid. See {Solid}, and {Arduous}. [1913 Webster]