hardtack
Noun: 1. A type of very hard, dry biscuit or bread, historically unsalted and used as a long-lasting staple food, especially on ships during long voyages. It is made from flour and water and baked until completely dry and hard to prevent spoilage.
This word is a countable noun. It refers to the food item itself. It is most commonly used in historical or nautical contexts. * You can have, eat, or be issued hardtack. * It is often described as being hard, stale, or infested with weevils in historical accounts.
- The sailors' rations consisted mainly of salt pork and hardtack.
- Before the expedition, they packed barrels of hardtack for the journey.
- He tried to soften the piece of hardtack in his coffee before eating it.
- "To break one's teeth on hardtack": An idiomatic expression highlighting the extreme hardness of the biscuit, often used figuratively to describe tackling something very difficult.
- Trying to understand that old legal text was like breaking my teeth on hardtack.
- Ship's biscuit: A direct synonym, emphasizing its use at sea.
- Pilot bread: A modern, similar type of durable cracker, sometimes used interchangeably but often softer.
- Sea biscuit: Another common synonym.
- Cracker: A general modern term for a dry biscuit, but not as hard or durable as traditional hardtack.
- Ship's biscuit
- Sea biscuit
- Pilot bread (in some contexts)
The reference context mentions "a mountain mahogany." This is a separate, archaic, or highly specialized usage of "hardtack" referring to a type of shrub or small tree (Cercocarpus ledifolius). In modern general English, this meaning is very rare and largely obsolete. The primary and almost exclusive meaning is the durable biscuit.
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a mountain mahogany
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very hard unsalted biscuit or bread; a former ship's staple
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