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

And, though their well-to-do friends were beginning to talk of new model cars and going abroad once more, the Quentins continued to be hard up.

From The House of Toys by Miller, Henry Russell

He must be hard up indeed before he could think of his grandfather.

From The Immortal Or, One Of The "Forty." (L'immortel) - 1877 by Verrall, A. W. (Arthur Woollgar)

I am trying to raise the wind here: it seems absurd that I should be "hard up," but it is a long story.

From John Patrick, Third Marquess of Bute, K.T. A Memoir by Blair, David Hunter