'hardscrabble marginal' definitions:

Definition of 'hardscrabble marginal'

From: GCIDE
  • Meager \Mea"ger\, Meagre \Mea"gre\, a. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. makro`s long. Cf. Emaciate, Maigre.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. [1913 Webster]
  • Meager were his looks; Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Destitute of richness, fertility, strength, or the like; defective in quantity, or poor in quality; poor; barren; scanty in ideas; wanting strength of diction or affluence of imagery; as, meager resources; meager fare. Opposite of ample. [WordNet sense 1] [Narrower terms: exiguous] [Narrower terms: hardscrabble, marginal] [Narrower terms: measly, miserable, paltry] "Meager soil." --Dryden.
  • Syn: meagre, meagerly, scanty. [1913 Webster]
  • Of secular habits and meager religious belief. --I. Taylor. [1913 Webster]
  • His education had been but meager. --Motley. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Min.) Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. less than a desirable amount; -- of items distributed from a larger supply. [WordNet sense 2]
  • Syn: scrimpy, skimpy, skimping. [WordNet 1.5]
  • Syn: Thin; lean; lank; gaunt; starved; hungry; poor; emaciated; scanty; barren. [1913 Webster] Meager