Definitions Deconstructed

Hard "Scrabble"

S. G. Lacey

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Definition:
Hardscrabble = Providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding work, often relating to a place of barren or barely arable soil.  [REF]

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Deconstruction:
This definition is pretty straightforward.  It combines “hard”, meaning difficult, and “scrabble”, meaning struggle.  Granted, the front portion of this compound word is much more common than the back half, with the amalgamation even less utilized, especially in modern parlance.

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The explanation of “hard” is incredibly well known, and not worth diving into deeply.  Tellingly, nearly every Old language, including English, Saxon, Norse, High German, and even Frisian, incorporated a similar guttural sound, with a similar tough meaning. 

 

One other note is that “hard” has become a popular precursor adjective tied to many decidedly modern topics: hard water (1650), hard money (1705), hard alcohol (1790), hard facts (1855), hard drugs (1955), and hard copy (1965).  Not to mention “hard to get”, which surprisingly harkens back to the 1940’s, well before the times of ubiquitous online dating. 

 

The origin of “scrabble” is much more intriguing, and surprisingly, nearly as ancient.  This unique word’s explanation can be discovered simply by mumbling.  Initially, this verb meant to scrawl, scratch, or most relevantly, scribble, specifically random, meaningless drivel.  

 

The 16th century Dutch term “schrabbelen” can be traced back to scrape, with likely deeper roots from our ancient cave brethren, scrambling through dark caves, and scribing stencils on the walls.  The letter “S” seems to be a commonality with regards to this term’s lineage.  

This odd literary combination of European utterances is of decidedly America creation.  More specifically, tied to a very specific time in United States history; a period when basic life was quite difficult, and the available land exceedingly rugged.  

 

The era of “Manifest Destiny”, encompassing the first half 19th century, resulted in establishing essentially the current United States national footprint, which extends unbroken from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans.  

 

The Louisiana Purchase under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 doubled America’s land mass.  Next, spirited legislative and military efforts by President James K. Polk in the back half of the 1840’s resulted in annexation of Texas, and subsequent Mexican cession of the region now the Four Corner states, plus Nevada and California. 

 

Unfortunately, for most common citizens moving west, this manifesto was more of a decree to the poor, and the only destiny for most of the brave souls who accepted the challenge was guaranteed failure.  With primitive rutted roads, and fledgling railroad infrastructure, travel was slow and problematic.  Upon arrival, the lack of established settlements, supplied with only menial amenities, made basic daily living a constant struggle.    
 
Rocky fields.  Rough and tumble towns.  Windswept prairies.  Financially failing farms.  Impoverished families.  Barren wastelands.  Dirty children, and pets.  A “Manifest Destiny” indeed.  

 

Granted, this Americanism is less common than other period-specific sayings like colonization, slavery, luddites, McCarthyism, hippies, and subprime.  But equally descriptive of a certain time in the history of the country.  There are not many words which can capture an entire era in a single term. 

 

While this word, hybridized into a noun, has faded out of the modern lexicon, it can be found in many antiquated writings.  

 

Entered in the journals of Lewis and Clark, to describe a desolate prairie they encountered in 1804 during their lengthy cross-country journey.  A specific town in upstate New York adopted this depressing moniker, in 1813, for some unknown reason.  More recently, this expression has been used in various media to depict the dire farming situation in the American Deep South during the period between the two great wars the early 1900’s.   

 

By 1845, the term “hardscrabble” was converted back to an adjective, used to identify any visually desolate and impoverished location.  This descriptor definitely took such unfortunately labelled places off the nationwide tourism list.   

Like Monopoly, Life, and Risk, Scrabble is one of the iconic board games which most Americans have at least heard of, if not actually played.  The advent of various cellphone clone apps, combined with the popularity of shared word games over the internet, several starting with the letter “W”, has only increased the popularity and proliferation of Scrabble.  It’s amazing how much the human mind resonates with linguistic challenges. 

 

The multitude of alphabet-based challenges available on social media these days are certainly mentally stimulating.  However, the physical effort pales on comparison to the pioneers who developed the America West, a few centuries ago.  These brave folks, who were certainly working hard, and scrambling to make a living, deserve to be acknowledged.  

 

Plus, they found their way across the country in wagons, without the aid of cellphone GPS navigation.  Hardscrabble is an integral part of American history.  

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        Abe stares out blankly over his bare plot of land.  During the past year, this hilly acre was clear cut and planted.  A messy arc of barb wire rings the perimeter, meant to scare off any intruders.  
        It’s time to bale some hay, and feed the lone cow, based on the clabber she’s producing.  The financial troubles are real; if he’s not able to grow crops this season, a sale is eminent. 
        This was supposed to be a new era in the family lineage, scaling up products and prestige.  Now, the farm resembles a desolate flat slab, scars evident in more ways than one.
        Abe can’t bear to lose this free field, but must now brace for the worst case.  Conceding defeat, at this point he could care less if the neighbors blab.  It’s time to drink a strong ale, then string up a short loop of cable.   

 

The above anecdote includes multiple words each sentence which can be created with the specific combination of letters in “Scrabble”, ranging in length from 1 to 7 wooden squares in length.