hard-nosed

The once hard-nosed defence coach will almost certainly show that emotional side again, regardless of Saturday's outcome.

But Lulu might protest too much: She’s clearly not so hard-nosed about love as she makes herself out to be.

There was a celebrated Royal opening in 2004 where I remember one hard-nosed journalist marvelling at what had been achieved by this "dapper wee man in a kilt".

He was also adept at drama, proven in the years he spent as a hard-nosed surgeon in the Fox medical drama “The Resident.”

Even in the daytime, the most hallowed ground inside the Magic Castle in Hollywood has a way of casting a spell on hard-nosed cynics who might normally consider themselves immune to the art of illusions.