hard knocker
n.— «A hard knocker in racetrack parlance is a horse who races consistently with determination, regardless of circumstances.» —“Lone Star Park Notes” by Gary West in Grand Prairie Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) Apr. 28, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The admonition Don’t Mess with Texas may sound like a tough guy’s warning, but it started out as an anti-littering slogan more than 40 years ago. In the 1980s, the Texas Department of Transportation launched the campaign to cut roadside litter that...
While hiking in Colorado, Becca from Corinth, Texas, felt what she calls a kind of “pre-emptive nostalgia,” an appreciation sharpened by knowing the beauty would soon be gone. Is there a word for “feeling homesick for a place you haven’t yet left”...