hardscrabble: Meaning and Definition of

hard•scrab•ble

Pronunciation: (härd'skrab"ul), [key]
— adj.
  1. providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding: the hardscrabble existence of mountainside farmers.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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