hard-bitten

Modifies a noun

• journalist: In his books Arthur Shuttlewood refers to himself as a hard-bitten, cynical journalist.
• cynic: NHS Direct, the nurse-led telephone helpline, has split the profession down the middle, into wide-eyed evangelists and hard-bitten cynics.
• lot: And personal finance journalists, normally a cynical and hard-bitten lot, encouraged their audience to use the schemes.