be hard up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
George laughs gruffly: “You lot must be hard up for heroes.”
From The Guardian • Jun. 11, 2018
The finding that loneliness can be contagious also caught some readers off-guard—wouldn't lonely souls be hard up for people to infect?
From Slate • Apr. 7, 2010
It will be a parterre or a fourth-floor room, rather gloomy and rather shabby, but a possible room for a student who happens to be hard up.
From Home Life in Germany by Sidgwick, Alfred, Mrs.
"He has four youngsters, and I knows they be hard up," he began.
From Labrador Days Tales of the Sea Toilers by Grenfell, Wilfred Thomason, Sir
Australia's a damnable place to be hard up in.
From Captivity by Eyles, M. Leonora