| authority | those in authority, the ruling class |
| brassy | hard as brass, unfeeling, impenetrable |
| canon | law, decree, rule |
| churlish | stiff, hard, unyielding |
| condition | accepted rule, agreed procedure |
| county | territory under the rule of a count |
| curious | particular, difficult to satisfy, hard to please |
| dear | dire, grievous, hard |
| dignity | official position, high office, rule |
| dry | severe, hard, harsh |
| flint | type of hard stone, flintstone |
| flint | flint-like, hard, merciless |
| flint-heart | hard-hearted, hard-boiled |
| flinty | hard, harsh, tough |
| foul | harsh, rough, hard |
| get | work hard for |
| hammer | puzzle out, work hard at, work out |
| hammer | think hard, deliberate, ponder |
| hammer | think hard about, ponder on |
| hard | earnestly, vigorously, energetically |
| hard | difficult, not easy [to obtain] |
| hard | painful, harrowing, tough |
| hard | close, near |
| hard | unpleasant, harsh, cruel |
| hard | badly, poorly, ill |
| hard | strong, tough, powerful |
| hard | tough, unfeeling, unsentimental |
| hard | hardened, toughened |
| hard | bad, poor, inadequate |
| hard | pressing, persistent, unremitting |
| hard | with difficulty, not easily |
| hard-a-keeping | too hard to keep |
| hard-favoured | ugly, unattractive, unsightly, hideous |
| hard-ruled | difficult to manage, obstreperous |
| heavy | difficult, hard, laborious |
| knock | hard blow, harsh stroke, buffet |
| labour | hard work, physical toil [with pun on childbirth] |
| labour | service, effort, hard work |
| labour | work hard for, try to bring about, urge |
| laboured | hard-worked, exhausted by toil |
| laboursome | laborious, assiduous, hard-working |
| lay | strike out, fight hard |
| liberty | plays not written according to traditional rules of drama; also: district not subject to a sheriff's legal order [i.e. more suitable for theatres] |
| mattock | tool for loosening hard ground |
| much | hard, difficult |
| night-rule | night-time activity, nocturnal diversion |
| obstinate | unyielding, inflexible, hard-hearted |
| orderly | according to the rules, properly, in the prescribed way |
| ordinance | decree, divine rule, injunction |
| overridden | ridden too hard, exhausted after too much riding |
| Plantagenet | [pron: plan'tajinit] name of an English royal dynasty, which ruled from the accession of Henry II (1154) to the death of Richard III (1485); from Latin planta genista 'sprig of bloom', worn as a crest by Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, the father of Henry II, from whom the house is also called the Anjou or Angevin dynasty |
| predominant | [astrology] in the ascendant, ruling |
| push | strike, press hard, thrust |
| rectorship | rule, government, dominion |
| regiment | rule, regimen, normal state |
| roast, rule the | has total authority, domineer, be master |
| rule | control, direct, guide |
| rule | government, country, state |
| rule | proper discipline, good management |
| rule | principle, order, regulation |
| shrewd | harsh, hard, severe |
| square | rule, canon; or: proper constitution, normal condition |
| square | rule, direct, influence |
| state | government, ruling body, administration |
| steely | hard as steel |
| straited | at a loss, nonplussed, hard put |
| sway | power, dominion, rule |
| sway | control, rule, direct, govern |
| tiring | exhausted, worn out from riding hard |
| travail | labour, make an effort, work hard [for] [often overlapping with the sense of 'travel'] |
| truth | abstract principle, general rule |
| uneasy | not easy, hard, difficult |
| untitled | with no right to rule, illegal |
| vice | force, constrain, press hard |
| writ | plays written according to traditional rules of drama; also: a district of the city subject to a sheriff's legal order [i.e. less suitable for theatres] |