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Glite Dictionary
hard put

hard put

1 8.3
Unable to manage easily because you have little money or help
  • idiom
translation icon : en apuros
  • Yet, had Dail's voice been as supple and willing as it used to be, he’d still have been hard put to pay the farm wife her due.
  • hard put to find
  • hard put to explain

Examples

  • During the financial crisis, many families were hard put to make ends meet.

  • I was hard put to conceal my elation at this final confirmation of Anton's integrity; nevertheless, I agreed that Antonov's last words were completely Dummkopf.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I was hard put to give it back to the man.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • You were hard put to understand the man.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • But I was hard put to know where to aim my anger.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I was hard put to hold him, lest he charge and be shot, too.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • It makes one hard put to leave Harry's too soon.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • But with heavy chimps on their backs, they would be hard put to seize someone who did not want to be grabbed.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • When they finally make their RICO case against him, they'll be hard put to find anything to confiscate.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The team was hard put to find enough players for the match due to injuries.

Synonyms

hard-pressed
vshard put
33 6.0

Short of money or resources and finding things difficult

is broader, covering general difficulty not only resource shortfalls
in a bad way
vshard put
17 6.0

Very sick or having serious money problems

means general difficulty often less specific about health or money
hard up
vshard put
  • Informal
10 8.0

Having very little money and struggling to pay bills

refers to general difficulty beyond purely financial problems
in a tight spot
vshard put
  • Informal
8 4.2

In a difficult situation that is hard to get out of

focuses on difficulty often linked to limited resources or coping limits
in a tight squeeze
vshard put
  • Informal
1 7.2

In a difficult situation with little time or money

focuses on lack of resources or overall inability to cope

Antonyms

easy
∞ 1.0

Not hard to do, understand, or achieve

comfortable
494 1.0

Not feeling pain or physical discomfort

How Difficult

desperate
704 3.3
hard put
1 8.3
in trouble
∞ 2.9

Surface Forms

hard put positive

Morphology

hard + put

The sense is partly compositional: 'hard' = difficult and 'put' = place into a state, so 'hard put' can be understood as being placed in a difficult situation. However, the fixed construction 'be hard put to (do something)' and its syntax are somewhat idiomatic and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Hard put comes from the simple image of being put into something hard, like being pushed into a tight corner where it is hard to move. So the phrase means 'having difficulty' or being in a tough situation.