'Hard clam' definitions:

Definition of 'hard clam'

From: WordNet
noun
An edible American clam; the heavy shells were used as money by some American Indians [syn: quahog, quahaug, hard-shell clam, hard clam, round clam, Venus mercenaria, Mercenaria mercenaria]

Definition of 'Hard clam'

From: GCIDE
  • Hard \Hard\ (h[aum]rd), a. [Compar. Harder (-[~e]r); superl. Hardest.] [OE. hard, heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D. hard, G. hart, OHG. herti, harti, Icel. har[eth]r, Dan. haard, Sw. h[*a]rd, Goth. hardus, Gr. kraty`s strong, ka`rtos, kra`tos, strength, and also to E. -ard, as in coward, drunkard, -crat, -cracy in autocrat, democracy; cf. Skr. kratu strength, k[.r] to do, make. Cf. Hardy.]
  • 1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to material bodies, and opposed to soft; as, hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended, decided, or resolved; as a hard problem. [1913 Webster]
  • The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex. xviii. 26. [1913 Webster]
  • In which are some things hard to be understood. --2 Peter iii. 16. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious; fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to cure. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful. [1913 Webster]
  • The stag was too hard for the horse. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]
  • A power which will be always too hard for them. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms. [1913 Webster]
  • I never could drive a hard bargain. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding; obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid; ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style. [1913 Webster]
  • Figures harder than even the marble itself. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. (Pron.) Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated, sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the organs from one position to another; -- said of certain consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished from the same letters in center, general, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a hard tone. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. (Painting) (a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition. (b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the coloring or light and shade. [1913 Webster]
  • Hard cancer, Hard case, etc. See under Cancer, Case, etc.
  • Hard clam, or Hard-shelled clam (Zool.), the quahog.
  • Hard coal, anthracite, as distinguished from {bituminous coal} (soft coal).
  • Hard and fast. (Naut.) See under Fast.
  • Hard finish (Arch.), a smooth finishing coat of hard fine plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.
  • Hard lines, hardship; difficult conditions.
  • Hard money, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper money.
  • Hard oyster (Zool.), the northern native oyster. [Local, U. S.]
  • Hard pan, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil; hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See Pan.
  • Hard rubber. See under Rubber.
  • Hard solder. See under Solder.
  • Hard water, water, which contains lime or some mineral substance rendering it unfit for washing. See Hardness, 3.
  • Hard wood, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak, ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar, hemlock, etc.
  • In hard condition, in excellent condition for racing; having firm muscles; -- said of race horses.
  • Syn: Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn; stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe; obdurate; rigid. See Solid, and Arduous. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'hard clam'

From: GCIDE
  • Quahog \Qua"hog\, Quahaug \Qua"haug\, n. [Abbrev. fr. Narragansett Indian poqua[^u]hock.] (Zool.) An American market clam (Venus mercenaria). It is sold in large quantities, and is highly valued as food. Called also round clam, and hard clam. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: The name is also applied to other allied species, as Venus Mortoni of the Gulf of Mexico. [1913 Webster] Quaigh

Words containing 'Hard clam'