/Compare: HIDE ONE’S HEAD.
[hang on the words of] also [hang on the lips of]{v. phr.} Tolisten very attentively to. •/Ann hangs on every word of her history teacherand takes very careful notes. / •/As he went on with his speech, hisauditors, deeply interested, hung on his lips./
[hang on to]{v.} To hold tightly; keep firmly. •/The child hung onto its mother’s apron, and would not let go./ •/John did not like his job,but decided to hang on to it until he found a better one./
[hang on to one’s mother’s apron strings] See: TIED TO ONE’S MOTHER’S APRONSTRINGS.
[hang on to your hat] or [hold on to your hat] or [hold your hat]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. Watch out; be prepared. — Used as a command,usually to warn of an unexpected action. •/"Hold on to your hat," said Jim ashe stepped on the gas and the car shot forward./ 2. Get ready for a surprise. — Used as a command, usually to warn of unexpected news. •/"Hold on to yourhat," said Mary. "Jim asked me to marry him."/
[hang out]{v.} 1. {slang} To spend your time idly or loungingabout. •/The teacher complained that Joe was hanging out in poolrooms insteadof doing his homework./ Compare: HANG AROUND(1). 2. {slang} To live;reside. •/Two policemen stopped the stranger and asked him where he hungout./ 3. To reach out farther than the part below. •/The branches of thetrees hung out over the road./ •/The upper floor of that house hangs outabove the first./
[hang out one’s shingle]{v. phr.}, {informal} To give publicnotice of the opening of an office, especially a doctor’s or lawyer’s office,by putting up a small signboard. •/The young doctor hung out his shingle andsoon had a large practice./
[hangover]{n.} A bad feeling of nausea and/or headache the day afterone has had too much to drink. •/Boy, did I have a hangover after that partyyesterday!/
[hang over]{v.} 1. To be going to happen to; threaten. •/Greattrouble hangs over the little town because its only factory has closed down./2. To remain to be finished or settled. •/The committee took up the businessthat hung over from its last meeting./
[hang over one’s head]{v. phr.} To be a danger or threat to you. — Anoverused phrase. •/Over Jimmy’s head hung the teacher’s suspicion that Jimmyhad cheated in the final examination./ •/Death hangs over a bullfighter’shead every time he performs./
[hang round] See: HANG AROUND.
[hang ten]{v.}, {slang} 1. To be an outstanding performer on asurfboard or on a skateboard (referring to the user’s ten toes). •/I bet I amgoing to be able to hang ten if you let me practice on your skateboard./ 2.To be a survivor despite great odds. •/Don’t worry about Jack, he can hangten anywhere!/
[hang together]{v.} 1. To stay united; help and defend one another.•/The club members always hung together when one of them was in trouble./Syn.: STICK TOGETHER. Compare: STAND BY, STAND UP FOR. 2. {informal} Toform a satisfactory whole; fit together. •/Jack’s story of why he was absentfrom school seems to hang together./
[hang up]{v.} 1. To place on a hook, peg, or hanger. •/When thechildren come to school, they hang up their coats in the cloakroom./ 2a. Toplace a telephone receiver back on its hook and break the connection.•/Carol’s mother told her she had talked long enough on the phone and madeher hang up./ 2b. To put a phone receiver back on its hook while the otherperson is still talking. — Used with "on". •/I said something that made Joeangry, and he hung up on me./ 3a. {informal} To cause to be stuck or heldso as to be immovable. — Usually used in the passive. •/Ann’s car was hungup in a snowdrift and she had to call a garageman to get it out./ 3b.{informal} To stick or get held so as to be immovable. •/A big passengership hung up on a sandbar for several hours./ 4. {informal} To cause await; delay. •/Rehearsals for the school play were hung up by the illness ofsome of the actors./ 5. {informal} To set (a record.) •/Bob hung up aschool record for long distance swimming./
[hang-up]{n.}, {informal} (stress on "hang") 1. A delay in someprocess. •/The mail has been late for several days; there must be somehang-up with the trucks somewhere./ 2. A neurotic reaction to some lifesituation probably stemming from a traumatic shock which has gone unconscious.•/Doctor Simpson believes that Suzie’s frigidity is due to some hang-up aboutmen./
[happen on] or [happen upon]{v.}, {literary} To meet or findaccidentally or by chance. •/The Girl Scouts happened on a charming littlebrook not far from the camp./ •/At the convention I happened upon an oldfriend I had not seen for years./ Syn.: CHANCE ON, COME ACROSS(1),(3).Compare: HIT ON.
[happy] See: STRIKE A HAPPY MEDIUM, TRIGGER HAPPY at QUICK ON THE TRIGGER.
[happy as the day is long]{adj. phr.} Cheerful and happy. •/Carl ishappy as the day is long because school is over for the summer./
[happy-go-lucky] See: FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY-FREE.
[happy hour]{n.}, {informal} A time in bars or restaurants whencocktails are served at a reduced rate, usually one hour before they startserving dinner. •/Happy hour is between 6 and 7 P.M. at Celestial Gardens./
[happy hunting ground]{n. phr.} 1. The place where, in American Indianbelief, a person goes after death; heaven. •/The Indians believed that atdeath they went to the happy hunting ground./ 2. {informal} A place orarea where you can find a rich variety of what you want, and plenty of it.•/The forest is a happy hunting ground for scouts who are interested inplants and flowers./ •/Shell collectors find the ocean beaches happyhunting grounds./
[hard] See: GIVE A HARD TIME, GO HARD WITH, SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS.
[hard-and-fast]{adj.} Not to be broken or changed; fixed; strict.•/The teacher said that there was a hard-and-fast rule against smoking in theschool./
[hard as nails]{adj. phr.}, {informal} 1. Not flabby or soft;physically very fit; tough and strong. •/After a summer of work in thecountry, Jack was as hard as nails, without a pound of extra weight./ 2. Notgentle or mild; rough; stern. •/Johnny works for a boss who is as hard asnails and scolds Johnny roughly whenever he does something wrong./
[hard-boiled]{adj.} Unrefined; tough; merciless. •/"Because you weretwo minutes late," my hard-boiled boss cried, "I will deduct fifteen minutesworth from your salary!"/
[hard cash] See: COLD CASH.
[hard feeling]{n.} Angry or bitter feeling; enmity. — Usually used inthe plural. •/Jim asked Andy to shake hands with him, just to show that therewere no hard feelings./ •/Bob and George once quarreled over a girl, andthere are still hard feelings between them./
[hard-fisted]{adj.} 1. Able to do hard physical labor; strong.•/Jack’s uncle was a hard-fisted truck driver with muscles of steel./ 2.Not gentle or easy-going; tough; stern. •/The new teacher was a hard-fistedwoman who would allow no nonsense./ 3. Stingy or mean; not generous withmoney. •/The hard-fisted banker refused to lend Mr. Jones more money for hisbusiness./
[hard going]{adj. phr.} Fraught with difficulty. •/Dave finds hisstudies of math hard going./
[hardheaded]{adj.} Stubborn; shrewd; practical. •/Don is ahardheaded businessman who made lots of money, even during the recession./
[hardhearted]{adj.} Unsympathetic; merciless. •/Jack is sohardhearted that even his own children expect nothing from him./
[hard-hitting]{adj.} Working hard to get things done; strong andactive; stubbornly eager. •/The boys put on a hard-hitting drive to raisemoney for uniforms for the football team./ •/He is a hard-hitting andsuccessful football coach./
[hard line]{n. phr.} Tough political policy. •/Although moderneconomists were trying to persuade him to open up to the West, Castro hasalways taken the hard line approach./
[hard-liner]{n.} A politician who takes the hard line. See: HARD LINE.
[hard luck] See: TOUGH LUCK.
[hardly any] or [scarcely any] Almost no or almost none; very few.•/Hardly any of the students did well on the test, so the teacher explainedthe lesson again./ •/Charles and his friends each had three cookies, andwhen they went out, hardly any cookies were left./
[hardly ever] or [scarcely ever]{adv. phr.} Very rarely; almostnever; seldom. •/It hardly ever snows in Florida./ •/Johnny hardly everreads a book./
[hard-nosed]{adj.}, {slang} Tough or rugged; very strict; not weakor soft; stubborn, especially in a fight or contest. •/Joe’s father was ahard-nosed army officer who had seen service in two wars./ •/Pete is a goodboy; he plays hard-nosed football./ Compare: HARD-BOILED.
[hard nut to crack] also [tough nut to crack]{n. phr.},{informal} Something difficult to understand or to do. •/Tom’s algebralesson was a hard nut to crack./ •/Mary found knitting a hard nut tocrack./ Compare: HARD ROW TO HOE.
[hard of hearing]{adj.}