hard shoulder
1
3.2
- noun
- /hɑːd ˈʃəʊldə/
- UK
:
arcén
- Valve, a persistent campaign in the Helsinki region wherein shadowy conspirators literally kidnap other players, bundling them into vans pulled up on the hard shoulder.
Examples
-
It's an offence to stop on the hard shoulder unless there's a malfunction with the car.
-
Using his horn, Vaughan forces the drivers in the slower lanes to back up and let him across onto the hard shoulder.
Fiction book (1996) -
They've opened up the hard shoulder for single line traffic only.
-
Only the hard shoulder was distinctly visible, the one solid indicator we were moving forward.
Blog text (8) -
John panics and swerves onto the hard shoulder amidst loud horn blasts.
Fiction book (2001) -
In case of an emergency, you should pull over to the hard shoulder for safety.
-
The hard shoulder is often used by drivers during breakdowns on the motorway.
-
It is important to only stop on the hard shoulder if there is a serious problem with your vehicle.
Synonyms
33
4.3
A strip of land at the side of a road for stopping in emergencies
How Big
- UK
3
2.7
12
1.8
- UK
1
3.2
- UK
- UK
2
7.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a literal composition: 'shoulder' already denotes the roadside strip and 'hard' simply specifies that this strip is paved/firm. This straightforward, cross-linguistically common modifier + noun construction makes the meaning immediately derivable for a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
The noun hard shoulder comes from the road 'shoulder', the side of the road, and hard meaning the ground is firm or paved. It is the solid area where drivers may 'stop' in an 'emergency', so the name shows it is a place to stop only in emergencies.