hard as nails
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.
It was that he had all the best qualities you’d want in somebody; his heart of gold, and then you couple that with him just being hard as nails and tough, no quit ever.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
On these second-act hits, Tucker was no longer the wild and wise child; she was a full-grown romantic, who managed to be, at the same time, hard as nails.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 23, 2019
She has grown up hearing about her grandmother: a "kind, really caring, lovely woman with this hard as nails personality."
From BBC • Sep. 29, 2015
"My wife once again proved she is hard as nails."
From The Guardian • May 11, 2013
Ain’t nothing in the world that’ll get you feeling fragile quicker than seeing a growned person you know is hard as nails looking afeared.
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
