1
general::
Phrase(s): rough it
to live without luxury; to live simply; to camp out. • During the blackout, we roughed it without electricity. • The campers roughed it in the remote cabin for a week.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Do without the usual comforts and conveniences, as in We spent our vacation roughing it in a log cabin. This idiom was first recorded in 1768. Mark Twain used it as the title of an account of his experiences in Nevada (Roughing It, 1872).
American Heritage Idioms