hardtack

American  

[hahrd-tak] / ˈhɑrdˌtæk /

noun

1. a hard, hard, saltless biscuit, formerly much used aboard ships and for army rations.

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hardtack British  

/ ˈhɑːdˌtæk /

noun

1. Also called: pilot biscuit.   ship's biscuit.   sea biscuit.  a kind of hard saltless biscuit, formerly eaten esp by sailors as a staple aboard ship

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Etymology

Origin of hardtack

First recorded in 1830–40; hard + tack ²

Example Sentences

Wartime museums display the bland hardtack that sustained Civil War fighters, and the canned meats, breads and fruit of World War II, known as C rations.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2021

Some sailors use pilot bread — a thick, crackerlike item similar to Colonial-era hardtack, which doesn’t go stale — to settle their stomachs.

From Washington Post • Nov. 1, 2018

My favourite episode is episode 13: The Cheesiest, which includes stories about how President Andrew Jackson started Big Block of Cheese Day, and a bit about American civil war soldiers’ least favourite food, hardtack.

From The Guardian • Mar. 30, 2018

Some are “hard-cores” so obsessed with authenticity that, when they’re in the field, they eat only hardtack or sorghum or other dreadful food from the period.

From Washington Times • Feb. 26, 2017

All the younger children were able-bodied seamen who, presumably, ate hardtack and bunked before the mast.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Related Words

• biscuit
• cookie
• pretzel