hardscrabble

[ hahrd-skrab-uhl ]

adjective

1. providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding:

   the hardscrabble existence of mountainside farmers.

hardscrabble

/ ˈhɑːdˌskræbəl /

noun

1. modifier (of a place) difficult to make a living in; barren
2. great effort made in the face of difficulties

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardscrabble¹

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; hard + scrabble

Example Sentences

After a hardscrabble youth, Nesbit moved with her mother from Pennsylvania to NYC at the age of 15.

From The Daily Beast

The limited series’ depiction of the hardscrabble poor may prove more controversial.

From Washington Post

I didn’t have a hardscrabble upbringing in the sense of deep poverty.

From Time

Their harrowing escape to Erbil has ended in a precarious and hardscrabble existence.

From The Daily Beast

But this hardscrabble, prairie town, with its population of 5,000 people, cast its charm on Ballantine.

From The Daily Beast

For many fans, her hardscrabble youth and rough-and-tumble style were viewed as endearing strengths.

From The Daily Beast

At Big Valley, a co-ed pre-K-12 in hardscrabble Modesto, Calif., the trip to Washington D.C. has been an annual rite of passage.

From The Daily Beast

In his hardscrabble campaign, there might not even have been a podium ready to welcome him.

From The Daily Beast

They moved into a large house which had been a tavern in the days when lumber had been cut around Hardscrabble.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Anthony had the name Hardscrabble changed to Center Falls, and was made postmaster.

From Project Gutenberg

In March, 1839, the family moved to Hardscrabble, a small village two miles further down the Battenkill.

From Project Gutenberg

Its cost was to be seventy thousand dollars, which was an enormous sum in those hardscrabble days.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Ronayne and the Doctor rode out soon after dinner, sir, in the direction of Hardscrabble.

From Project Gutenberg