hard as nails
(as) hard as nails
Physically or mentally tough. I'm scared of those bikers—they all look like they're hard as nails! Our aunt is as hard as nails, so we asked her to give the eulogy, knowing that she's the only one who could do it without crying.
hard-as-nails
Describing someone who is physically or mentally tough. Aren't you scared of those hard-as-nails bikers? We asked our hard-as-nails aunt to give the eulogy, knowing that she's the only one who could do it without crying.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*hard as nails
Cliché [of someone] stern and unyielding. (*Also: as ∼.) Don't try to bargain with Liz. She's as hard as nails. Bob may seem sweet and easily swayed, but in fact he's hard as nails.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
hard as nails
Unyielding, callous, unsympathetic, as in Don't ask her for a contribution-she's hard as nails. This expression has replaced the 14th-century simile hard as flint stone and presumably alludes to the rigidity of nails.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hard as nails
If someone is as hard as nails, they are very unsympathetic towards other people and do not show their emotions. He's a shrewd businessman and hard as nails. When necessary she could be as hard as nails. Note: You can use hard-as-nails before a noun. That was his hard-as-nails trade representative, Carla Hills.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
hard as nails
1 very hard. 2 (of people) insensitive or callous; without pity.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(as) hard as ˈnails
(of a person) not sensitive or sympathetic: She doesn’t care what happens to anybody. She’s as hard as nails.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
hard as nails
Unyielding, tough, usually describing a person. This simile, which replaced the earlier hard as flint or stone (dating from Chaucer’s time), seems to allude to a nail’s ability to withstand the blows of a hammer. Shaw used it in at least three of his plays (You Never Can Tell, Heartbreak House, Man and Superman) to describe an unsentimental character.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer