1
general::
In addition to the idioms beginning with HARD, Also see BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE; COLD (HARD) CASH; COME DOWN (HARD) ON; DIE HARD; DRIVE A (HARD) BARGAIN; GO HARD WITH; NO HARD FEELINGS; PLAY HARDBALL; PLAY HARD TO GET; SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS; TOUGH (HARD) ROW TO HOE.
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
adj. solid/stiff VERBS be, feel, look, seem The chairs felt hard and uncomfortable. | become, go Don't leave the cake uncovered or the icing will go hard. | stay ADV. extremely, very | a bit, fairly, quite, rather PHRASES rock hard The toffee was rock hard. difficult VERBS be, look, seem | become, get Life got very hard. | make sth If you tell the children the answers, it only makes it harder for them to do the work on their own. | find sth I found the exam quite hard. ADV. extremely, really, very | a bit, fairly, pretty, quite, rather
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
hard
difficult to press down, break, or cut, and not at all soft:
• I fell onto the hard stone floor. • The clay gets harder as it dries.
firm
not completely hard, but not easy to press or bend – used especially when this seems a good thing:
• I like to sleep on a firm mattress. • exercises to make your stomach muscles nice and firm • The pears were firm and juicy.
stiff
difficult to bend and not changing shape:
• a piece of stiff cardboard • The collar of his shirt felt stiff and uncomfortable.
solid
made of a thick hard material and not hollow:
• a solid oak door • The floor felt strong and solid beneath her feet.
rigid
having a structure that is made of a material that is difficult or impossible to bend:
• The tent is supported by a rigid frame. • Carry sandwiches in a rigid container.
crisp/crispy
used about food that is pleasantly hard, so that it makes a noise when you bite it – often used about things that have been cooked in thin slices until they are brown:
• Bake the cookies until they are crisp and golden. • crispy bacon
crunchy
food that is crunchy makes a noise when you bite on it – often used about things that are fresh, for example fruit, vegetables, and nuts:
• a crunchy breakfast cereal • The carrots were still nice and crunchy. • a crunchy salad • crunchy peanut butter
tough
meat that is tough is too hard and is difficult to cut or eat:
• The meat was tough and flavourless.
rubbery
too hard and bending like rubber rather than breaking – used especially about meat:
• The chicken was all rubbery.
COLLOCATIONS CHECK
firm
bed/muscles/fruit/vegetables/ground
stiff
card/cardboard/collar/material/fingers/body
solid
wood/steel/concrete/floor/wall
rigid
frame/structure
crisp/crispy
apple/bacon/toast/potato/lettuce
crunchy
cereal/vegetables/nuts/snack
tough
meat
rubbery
meat
Longman-Thesaurus