hard finish

Hard \Hard\ (h[aum]rd), a. [Compar. {Harder} (-[~e]r); superl.
   {Hardest}.] [OE. hard, heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D.
   hard, G. hart, OHG. herti, harti, Icel. har[eth]r, Dan.
   haard, Sw. h[*a]rd, Goth. hardus, Gr. kraty`s strong,
   ka`rtos, kra`tos, strength, and also to E. -ard, as in
   coward, drunkard, -crat, -cracy in autocrat, democracy; cf.
   Skr. kratu strength, k[.r] to do, make. Cf. {Hardy}.]
   1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not
      yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to
      material bodies, and opposed to {soft}; as, hard wood;
      hard flesh; a hard apple.
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   2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended,
      decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.
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            The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex.
                                                  xviii. 26.
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            In which are some things hard to be understood. --2
                                                  Peter iii. 16.
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   3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious;
      fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to
      cure.
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   4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
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            The stag was too hard for the horse.  --L'Estrange.
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            A power which will be always too hard for them.
                                                  --Addison.
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   5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or
      consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive;
      distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times;
      hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.
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            I never could drive a hard bargain.   --Burke.
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   6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding;
      obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard
      master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.
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   7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid;
      ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.
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            Figures harder than even the marble itself.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.
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   9. (Pron.) Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated,
      sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the
      organs from one position to another; -- said of certain
      consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished
      from the same letters in center, general, etc.
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   10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a
       hard tone.
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   11. (Painting)
       (a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures;
           formal; lacking grace of composition.
       (b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the
           coloring or light and shade.
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   {Hard cancer}, {Hard case}, etc. See under {Cancer}, {Case},
      etc.

   {Hard clam}, or {Hard-shelled clam} (Zool.), the quahog.

   {Hard coal}, anthracite, as distinguished from {bituminous
      coal} ({soft coal}).

   {Hard and fast}. (Naut.) See under {Fast}.

   {Hard finish} (Arch.), a smooth finishing coat of hard fine
      plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.

   {Hard lines}, hardship; difficult conditions.

   {Hard money}, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper
      money.

   {Hard oyster} (Zool.), the northern native oyster. [Local, U.
      S.]

   {Hard pan}, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil;
      hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental
      part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of
      character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See {Pan}.

   {Hard rubber}. See under {Rubber}.

   {Hard solder}. See under {Solder}.

   {Hard water}, water, which contains lime or some mineral
      substance rendering it unfit for washing. See {Hardness},
      3.

   {Hard wood}, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak,
      ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar,
      hemlock, etc.

   {In hard condition}, in excellent condition for racing;
      having firm muscles; -- said of race horses.

   Syn: Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn;
        stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe;
        obdurate; rigid. See {Solid}, and {Arduous}.
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