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- give a hard time
give a hard time
give somebody a hard time
to make things difficult for someone Josh's pals were giving him a hard time about his girlfriend. We were trying to help Tim, not just giving him a hard time about his bad grades this year.
give somebody a hard time
1. (informal) to criticize someone and make them feel guilty about something that they have done (often + about ) I came home late one night last week and she's been giving me a hard time about it ever since.
2. to treat someone severely or to cause difficulties for them She'd always wanted to be a teacher, but those kids gave her a really hard time.
give (someone) a hard time
1. To make life difficult for; harass.
2. To make fun of; tease.