hardscrabblehard‧scrab‧ble /ˈhɑːdskræbəl $ ˈhɑːrd-/ adjective [only before noun] 
1hardscrabble land has poor soil and will not produce good crops of food, and sometimes not any food at all: 
I remembered it being green and humid, nothing like this hardscrabble land.2poor, and working on land that does not produce enough food to eat or crops to sell: The town is also home to hardscrabble residents who have to eat at the soup kitchen.
1hardscrabble land has poor soil and will not produce good crops of food, and sometimes not any food at all: I remembered it being green and humid, nothing like this hardscrabble land.2poor, and working on land that does not produce enough food to eat or crops to sell: The town is also home to hardscrabble residents who have to eat at the soup kitchen.