Chapter Hankey Pankey to Hard as the Nether Millstone of H by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Happy Valley in Dr. Johnson's tale of Rasselas, is placed in the kingdom of Amhara, and was inaccessible except in one spot through a cave in a rock. It was a Garden of Paradise where resided the princes of Abyssinia.

Happy as a Clam at High Tide The clam is a bivalve mollusc, dug from its bed of sand only at low tide; at high tide it is quite safe from molestation. (See Close As A Clam.)

Happy as a King This idea of happiness is wealth, position, freedom, and luxurious living; but Richard II. says a king is "Woe's slave" (iii. 2).
    On the happiness of kings, see Shakespeare: Henry V., iv. 1.

Happy the People whose Annals are Tiresome (Montesquieu.) Of course, wars, rebellions, troubles, make up the most exciting parts of history.

Hapsburg (See Habsburg .)

Har The first person of the Scandinavian Trinity, which consists of Har (the Mighty), the Like Mighty, and the Third Person. This Trinity is called "The Mysterious Three," and they sit on three thrones above the Rainbow. The next in order are the Æsir (q.v.), of which Odin, the chief, lives in Asgard, on the heavenly hills between Earth and the Rainbow. The third order is the Vanir (see Van) - the gods of the ocean, air, and clouds - of which Van Niord is the chief. Har has already passed his ninth incarnation; in his tenth he will take the forms first of a peacock, and then of a horse, when all the followers of Mahomet will be destroyed.

Har in Indian mythology, is the second person of the Trinity.

Haram or Harem, means in Arabic forbidden, or not to be violated; a name given by Mahometans to those apartments which are appropriated exclusively to the female members of a family.

Harapha A descendant of Og and Anak, a giant of Gath, who went to mock Samson in prison, but durst not venture within his reach. The word means the giant. (Milton: Samson Agonistes.)

Harbinger One who looks out for lodgings, etc.; a courier; hence, a fore-runner, a messenger. (Anglo- Saxon, here, an army; bergan, to lodge.)

"I'll be myself the harbinger, and make joyful
The hearing of my wife with your approach."
Shakespeare: Macbeth, i. 4.

Harcourt's Round Table A private conference in the house of Sir William Harcourt, January 14, 1887, with the view of reuniting, if possible, the Liberal party, broken up by Mr. Gladstone's Irish policy.
   The phrase "Round Table" is American, meaning what the French call a cercle, or club meetings held at each other's houses.

Hard meaning difficult, is like the French dur; as, "hard of hearing," "qui a l'oreille dure; " "a hard word," "un terme dur; " "'tis a hard case," "c'est une chose bien dure; " "hard times," "les temps sont durs; " so also "hardly earned," "qu'on gagne bien durement; " "hard-featured," "dont les traits sont durs; " "hard-hearted," "qui a le cœur dur, " and many other phrases.

Hard By Near. Hard means close, pressed close together; hence firm or solid, in close proximity to.

"Hard by a sheltering wood."
David Mallet: Edwin and Emma.

Hard Lines Hard terms; "rather rough treatment;" exacting. Lines mean lot or allotment (measured out by a line measure), as, "The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage," i.e. my allotment is excellent. Hard lines = an unfavourable allotment (or task).

"That was hard lines upon me, after I had given up everything." - G. Eliot.

Hard Up Short of money. "N'avoir pas de quibus. " "Up" often = out, as, "used up," "worn out," "done up," etc. "Hard up" = nearly out [of cash]. In these, and all similar examples, "Up" is the Old English ofer, over; Latin, uper; Greek