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hardscrabble

Pronunciation: /hɑːdˈskrabl/
Definition of hardscrabble

adjective

North American
  • involving hard work and struggle:a brutally hardscrabble life

Origin:

early 19th century: originally as a noun in the sense 'place thought of as the epitome of barrenness'

hardscrabble in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hardscrabble in the US English dictionary
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