give someone a hard time
The idiom "give someone a hard time" is commonly used in casual conversation to describe actions that cause difficulty or discomfort for someone.
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Definition
B2General
(informal)To cause difficulty or make trouble for someone.
Example
- His boss gave him a hard time about missing the deadline.
B2Social Interaction
(informal)To tease or mock someone in a playful manner.
Example
- They gave him a hard time about his new haircut, but he knew they were just joking.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "give someone a hard time":
give someone griefgive someone the businessgive someone the shitsgive someone a breakhard timemake hard work ofget in someone's hairrattle someone's cagelet someone have itbeat up ongive someone a handyank someone's chainput someone through their pacesget under someone's skin