skirt is really happening. Wow, that’s
happening! 2. n. an event. The concert
was a real happening. Well, class is
never a happening, but it’s never dull.happy 1. mod. alcohol intoxicated; tipsy.
She seems a little happy. Must have had a
few already. She’s not happy. She’s
stewed. 2. mod. obsessed with something.
(A combining form showing a strong in-
terest in the thing that is named before
happy.) All those guys are girl-happy at
this age. Pete’s car-happy right now.
That’s all he thinks about.
happy campern. a happy person. (Often
in the negative.) Fred f lunked algebra
and he is not a happy camper. I am not
a happy camper. I am tired, hungry, and
I need a shower.
happy hourn. cocktail time. Happy hour
starts at dawn for Harry. The hotel had
a nice happy hour at five.
happy juicen. liquor, beer, and wine.
A little more happy juice, John? To o
much happy juice can make you very un-
happy.
happy pillsn. tranquilizers. She asked
the doctor for some happy pills. She is
now hooked on happy pills.
happy shopn. a liquor store. I need
something from the happy shop. Let’s
stop off at the happy shop.
hapsn.things that are happening; events.
(Streets.) Come in and tell me the haps.
I don’t care what’s going on. I’m down
with the haps.
hard 1. mod. fermented, as with cider. (See
also hard liquor.) This juice got hard.
What shall I do with it? Where’s the
hard stuff? If it’s hard, give it to me and
I’ll drink it. 2. mod. having to do with an
addictive drug. (Compare this with soft.)
Gert’s on hard stuff now. Hard drugs
are easier to get than ever before. 3. mod.
tough. (Akin to hardhearted; hard as
nails.) Sally is really hard. She can stand
anything. Only the hard guys get
through basic training.
hardboiledmod. tough; heartless. She is
a hardboiled old gal. Do you have to act
so hardboiled?hard case 1. n. a case of liquor. Pete
wanted a hard case delivered to his house.
There’s a lot of beer and a hard case in
the van. 2. n. a person who is a real prob-
lem. Jed has turned into a hard case.
He’s fighting us at every turn. The hard
case we dealt with last week is back again.hard coinn. lots of money. (See also coin.)
A car like that takes hard coin. Old
Freddie is earning some hard coin these
days.hard-core 1. mod. sexually explicit; porno-
graphic. You can’t sell that hard-core
stuff in a store like this! You think that’s
hard-core? 2. mod. extreme; entrenched.
She spent some time teaching hard-core
illiterates in a medium-sized town.
There are too many hard-core cases of
poverty there. 3. mod. very good; stun-
ning; great. This new album is one
hard-core piece of tunage. I’d like a
really hard-core pizza with at least five
kinds of cheese.hardhat 1. n. a protective helmet worn
around construction sites. (Standard En-
glish.) You’ll need a hardhat to come
into this area. John swiped a hardhat
from the construction site. 2. n. a con-
struction worker. (Usually derogatory.)
The hardhats didn’t care much for the
actress’s politics. Some hardhat was
waving a f lag and shouting something I
couldn’t understand.hard headn. a stubborn person. You are
a classic hard head. Lighten up! I’m not
really a hard head. You bring out the worst
in me.hardheadedmod. stubborn. Gary is a
real hardheaded guy. Anybody that
hardheaded is going to have trouble with
everybody.hardlinern. a person who takes a strict po-
sition (on something). Tom is sort of
a hardliner when it comes to spending pub-
lic money. The mayor is a hardliner on
the question of care for the elderly.happy