“Hard cheese” is a mainly British expression that means tough luck or bad luck. People use it when someone has had an unlucky result, especially when the speaker is being blunt, teasing, or only slightly sympathetic.
The interesting part is the history of cheese. In older English, cheese could mean something good, important, or desirable. From that older sense, hard cheese developed as a way to mean a hard or unpleasant thing, in other words, bad luck.
Today, the phrase can sound a little old fashioned. It may also sound dismissive, so it is not always the best choice if you want to sound warm or kind.
- “You forgot your ticket? Hard cheese.”
- “They closed the shop before we got there, so it was hard cheese for us.”
If you are learning English, it helps to remember the tone as well as the meaning. This expression is usually conversational and informal, and many speakers would choose tough luck instead.