ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Usage: often attributive
1. : a person by nature incorrigible or intractable : a tough customer ; especially : a hardened criminal
small-time hardcase — Mickey Spillane
ran with a hardcase crowd — Luke Short
remained at peace with local hardcases by giving demonstrations of his … gunnery — W.L.Gresham
2. : a person in a pitiful plight : a case of hardship
my hardcases were all of the literary sort — F.M.Ford