hard times

adversity

Severe difficulty or suffering

• struggleLabored effort against resistance
• sufferingSustained experience of distress
• tribulationState of great distress

ordeal · misfortune · difficulty · trouble · woe · distress · burden · trial · setback · calamity

recession

Prolonged economic decline

• unemploymentBeing without paid work
• povertySevere lack of resources
• bankruptcyLegal status when insolvent

crisis · inflation · downturn · foreclosure · destitution · Great Depression · Dust Bowl · breadlines · soup kitchens · bank failures

perseverance

Sustained resolve despite obstacles

• enduranceSustained effort capacity
• fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
• gritDetermination or abrasive particles

tenacity · determination · survival · coping · getting by · pulling through · weathering · bouncing back · toughness · strength

frugality

Economical resource management

• rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
• belt-tighteningReducing expenditures deliberately
• cutbacksReductions in spending

scrimping · thrift · budget cuts · sacrifice · doing without · making do · stretching dollars · penny-pinching · economizing · bare essentials

Grapes of Wrath

Depression-era migrant novel

• HoovervillesDepression-era homeless encampments
• New DealDepression-era reform agenda
• OkiesDust Bowl refugees, informally

rags · blues · protest songs · Dickensian · workhouse · Les Misérables · long winter · famine · diaspora · migration

• predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
• setbacksfailing, back to square one, stuck, losing, stumbles
• condolencesmy condolences, heartfelt condolences, deepest sympathy, sorry for your loss, with sympathy
• Family Storiesfamily saga, mother-daughter, father-son, childhood memories, maternal bonds
• hungerhunger, hungry, starving, starvation, famished
• time sayingstime flies, time is money, time heals all wounds, time will tell, carpe diem