drive a hard bargain

verb

To negotiate forcefully.

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Meanings

verbdrive a hard bargain (third-person singular simple present drives a hard bargain, present participle driving a hard bargain, simple past drove a hard bargain, past participle driven a hard bargain)

present singular third person drives a hard bargain · participle present driving a hard bargain · past drove a hard bargain · participle past driven a hard bargain

  1. idiomaticTo negotiate forcefully.

    Both the G.W.R. and the L.S.W.R. had to pay dearly for the privilege of entering the Royal Borough, for the Prince Consort drove a hard bargain with each.

    1949 September and October, “Notes and News: The Windsor Centenary”, in Railway Magazine, page 340

Translations

Finnish olla kova neuvottelemaan
  • olla kova neuvottelemaanTranslations
French être dur en affaires
  • être dur en affairesTranslations
Polish stawiać twarde warunki
  • stawiać twarde warunkiTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

drive a hard bargain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drive%20a%20hard%20bargain

MLA

“drive a hard bargain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drive%20a%20hard%20bargain. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “drive a hard bargain,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drive%20a%20hard%20bargain.

Source: drive a hard bargain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.