Topic: English: "hard as a rock" or "hard like a rock"?

Anonymous A started this topic 9 months (2009-07-02 20:12:?? UTC) ago (#28,758):

Both sound right to me, but one probably is wrong…

Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 20:14:?? UTC) ago, 2 minutes later (#171,800):

Both are right. They are just different ways to say the same thing.

Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 20:30:?? UTC) ago, 16 minutes later, 17 minutes past creation (#171,813):

I would instinctively say "hard as a rock" for most contexts, but I think both are technically correct. I think it may have something to do with both context and regional dialect.

Anonymous D joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 21:15:?? UTC) ago, 45 minutes later, 1 hour past creation (#171,849):

I would use it in the following ways:
It is hard as a rock.
It is hard, like a rock.

Anonymous E joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 21:33:?? UTC) ago, 18 minutes later, 1 hour past creation (#171,854):

Of the two the former sounds better to me, but I would tend to use 'rock hard'.

Anonymous F joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 22:05:?? UTC) ago, 32 minutes later, 2 hours past creation (#171,869):

Hard as a rock sounds is like referring to rocks in general, hard like a rock to a specific rock.

Anonymous G joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 23:01:?? UTC) ago, 56 minutes later, 3 hours past creation (#171,899):

I'm pretty sure it's hard as.

Anonymous H joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 23:37:?? UTC) ago, 36 minutes later, 3 hours past creation (#171,927):

It can be either, it is a matter of personal choice. "Hard as a rock" is more common, however.

Anonymous I joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-02 23:47:?? UTC) ago, 10 minutes later, 4 hours past creation (#171,939):

Three ways of saying the same thing:
It's rock hard.
It's hard as a rock.
It's hard, like a rock.

Of the three, the last is least frequently used because it's longer. Also, it sounds more thoughtful, while the first two sound more spontaneous. Use whichever one you like.

Anonymous J joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-03 08:01:?? UTC) ago, 8 hours later, 12 hours past creation (#172,220):

Both are correct, but "hard as a rock" is an idiomatic expression, so it typically is not as strong as "hard, like a rock". If one uses the latter, the implication is that they are actually comparing the subject's hardness to that of stone (i.e. for the sake of reference). The former, however, is often used in an exaggerating manner, describing things like stale bread, toned muscled, or an uncomfortable bus seat, which are clearly nowhere near the hardness of stone. For the purpose of non-native speakers, it is fair to say the difference is subtle enough to be negligible. Be sure to note that, because "hard as a rock" exists as an idiomatic expression, it sounds a bit awkward to use "hard, like a rock" when one is not actually making a realistic, somewhat detailed description of an object or substance.

Anonymous K joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-03 08:33:?? UTC) ago, 32 minutes later, 12 hours past creation (#172,249):

solid as a rock is what I usually hear people say

Anonymous L joined in and replied with this 9 months (2009-07-03 09:43:?? UTC) ago, 1 hour later, 14 hours past creation (#172,283):

You guys are missing the addition "as".

As hard as a rock.

They both have slightly different meanings. "Hard, like a rock" makes no implication towards the hardness of the entity, just that it is hard (as is a rock). "As hard as a rock" suggests the entity is quite literally as hard as a rock.

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Topic: English: "hard as a rock" or "hard like a rock"?