hard cash
10
2.7
- noun
- /hɑrd kæʃ/
:
efectivo
- I bought 'em and paid hard cash for them.
- cold, hard cash
I don't care if you're Richie Rich or Broke Becky, this is the same exact case for cold hard cash.
- I don't care if you're Richie Rich or Broke Becky, this is the same exact case for cold hard cash.
Examples
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With hard cash proving more attractive than tax credits, the industry successfully lobbied to extend the scheme through the end of 2011.
Academic text (2011) -
Media: "A cynical observer may note that in the end this whole Net Neutrality debate is about hard cash."
Blog text (30) -
To us it's all cold, hard cash.
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To pay in cold, hard cash?
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Well, how are you set for large amounts of hard cash?
-
I hope others will step up to the plate, but hard cash will be required.
Blog text (34) -
Environmental crimes are committed for only one reason: cold, hard cash.
Academic text (1997) -
Teenagers are consumers that spend hard cash.
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We need an infusion of cold hard cash.
Blog text (23) -
The cafe tables are empty, and a salesman is bored without tourists bringing hard cash to the economy.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Money in the form of coins and bills
3
3.9
Money in notes and coins that you can use right away
2
2.7
Money in cash that you can use immediately
Physical money you can hold, such as bills and coins, not checks or cards
Cash you keep for immediate use
Antonyms
How Liquid
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'money in physical bills and coins' is directly derivable from combining 'cash' (money) with 'hard' used metaphorically to mean tangible/solid rather than electronic or paperless forms. This compositional pattern is predictable and common cross‑linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Hard cash probably comes from the picture of cash you can touch — coins and notes — that are seen as hard and solid, not a promise on paper or a number on a screen. So hard cash means 'money in the form of physical bills and coins, rather than checks or electronic payments'.