What does 'hard-nosed' mean? - YouTube
Feifei: Hello, welcome to The English
We Speak, with me, Feifei
Rob: And me, Rob. Now Feifei, would you
call yourself hard-nosed?
Feifei: Oh here we go again - you're trying
to insult me. Can we leave my nose out of
the conversation please?
Rob: I was starting to compliment you.
Feifei: Go on - why is having
a hard nose a compliment?
Rob: Not having a hard nose but
being hard-nosed describes
someone who is practical...
Feifei: OK.
Rob: ...someone who is determined
and tough-minded. That's you, isn't it?
Feifei: Hmmm maybe. Well, yes I suppose
that could describe me.
Rob: I thought so. Let's hear some more
examples of this word 'hard-nosed'...
She's a hard-nosed reporter - she got
the scoop that none of the other
TV channels managed to get.
When my son was ill I asked
my boss for time off but he's so
hard-nosed he said 'no'!
Our company is in financial trouble,
we need a hard-nosed business person
to come in and
save us from closing.
Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English and
we're learning about
the word 'hard-nosed', which describes
someone who is practical,
determined and tough-minded.
But hold on, Rob...
Rob: Yes?
Feifei: I've been researching this word
and understand that being hard-nosed
also describes
someone who is stubborn,
unforgiving and insensitive!
Erm, Rob, can we talk about this please?
Rob: I was trying to be nice!
Feifei: I don't care. I will not forgive you.
Rob: What about if I called you
soft-nosed?
Feifei: No. From now on I'm only going to
present with Neil. Now, I've got a pile of
work to do so I'm off
to write some scripts.
Rob: There you go - hard-nosed - practical,
determined, stubborn and unforgiving.
Feifei: Goodbye!
Rob: What did I say?
