die hard

die hard

To be difficult to stop or end. This phrase is usually used in the present tense. Old habits die hard, so I'm not surprised that you've struggled to stop smoking.
See also: die, hard
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

die hard

Take a long time to cease to exist or be dropped from consideration. For example, Old prejudices die hard, or The more radical parts of this proposal will die hard. This idiom alludes to struggling against physical death. [Late 1700s]
See also: die, hard
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

die hard

disappear or change very slowly.
This expression seems to have been used first of criminals who died resisting to the last on the Tyburn gallows in London. At the battle of Albuera in 1811 , during the Peninsular War, William Inglis , commander of the British 57th Regiment of Foot, exhorted his men to ‘die hard’; they acted with such heroism that the regiment earned the nickname Die-hards. The name was attached later in the century to various groupings in British politics who were determinedly opposed to change. The word diehard is still often used of someone who is stubbornly conservative or reactionary.
See also: die, hard
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • cool it
  • Cool it!
  • cool it, to
  • stop for
  • stop for (someone or something)
  • stop sleeping on (someone or something)
  • all right(y) already
  • All righty already!
  • already
  • righty
References in periodicals archive
When it comes to casting, films don't always get their first choice when it comes to their leading men and ladies - and, in the case of Die Hard, there were quite a list of people ahead ofBruce Willis.
Die Hard facts: 16 action-packed facts about everyone's favourite Christmas film; There is a lot you may not know about the iconic Bruce Willis Christmas classic Die Hard - here are our top facts
But you could rewrite Home Alone - the children's version of Die Hard - to take place at another time of year, and nobody ever suggests that is not a Christmas film.
I'm a Die Hard Christmas fan; And to Elf with the rest of you..
A Good Day To Die Hard cynically exploits our nostalgia for one of modern cinema's most tenacious action heroes.
A slow ride down Memory McClane
A Good Day To Die Hard is blunt and boring, with no humour or finesse.
Bruce not so mighty; FILMS FILM OF THE WEEK A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (12A)
A Good Day To Die Hard is a high-speed tour down Memory McClane that cynically exploits our nostalgia for one of modern cinema's most tenacious action heroes.
Not a good day
Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney in A Good Day To Die Hard.
A GOOD DAY TO DIE [...]
It's been 25 years since Willis's wise-cracking cop debuted in the original Die Hard.
ACTION
Directed by John Moore, "A Good Day to Die Hard" marks the fifth film in the action franchise.
'A Good Day To Die Hard' And 'Safe Haven' Panned By Critics
AT the UK premiere of the fifth Die Hard movie, Bruce Willis has confirmed that John McClane will return for Die Hard 6.
Dai Hard a bonus for Bruce
Summary: Cairo: Old habits die hard for Mahmoud Abbas.
Oops! Old habits die hard for Palestinian leader Abbas
Summary: Bruce Willis defends Die Hard films in Berlin...and does a cat impression!
Bruce Willis defends Die Hard...and does a cat impression!
In this fifth instalment of the Die Hard film series from Max Payne director John Moore, former New York City police detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Moscow to help his son Jack (Jai Courtney) out when he is abruptly arrested by the Russian authorities.
A Good Day to Die Hard
So there was never any question that 12 years after the last film, the man himself would resurrect his Die Hard alter-ego John McClane.
I got kicked in the head by a stunt girl; interview Bruce Willis tells Eileen Condon about returning to Die Hard and being friends with his ex-wife's new husband
It's been 12 years since the last of the original three "Die Hard" movies, so no one is expecting you to know anything about New York City police detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) except that he is relentless.
Latest `Die Hard' OK as summer action flick