From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdrive/strike a hard bargaindrive/strike a hard bargainto demand a lot or refuse to give too much when you are making an agreement The company is believed to have struck a hard bargain. → hard
Examples from the Corpus
drive/strike a hard bargain• Don't become despondent just because it seems that your employer is keen to drive a hard bargain.• It could also be that Reilly, who has never knowingly sold himself short, is driving a hard bargain.• So he was right to drive a hard bargain.• The farmer had grown used to billeting troops and drove a hard bargain. 