Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to behave in an aggressive, tough manner, to persist in a course of action whatever the problems; thus hang tough tit, to stick to a decision.

1936		L. Duncan Over the Wall 329: ‘How are you coming, Dan?’ I asked abruptly. ‘Your fifteen years still hanging tough?’.
1962		P. Crump Burn, Killer, Burn! 132: I’ll hang tough.
1974		(con. late 1940s) E. Thompson Tattoo (1977) 485: Keep your pecker up, Billy. Hang tough.
1986		J. Ellroy Silent Terror 67: And always, always, ‘be frosty’ and ‘hang tough.’.
1999		‘Master Pimp’ Pimp’s Rap 60: There sat a big black guerilla nigger. A barbie doll was hanging tough on his arm.
2003		R.S. Benson Lighterman’s Hitch 58: My advice to you is to tell him to hang tough and demand an attorney pronto. [...] Just tell him to hang tough.
2008		R. Price Lush Life 89: Sounding embarrassed by his inability to hang tough .
2012		J. Díaz This Is How You Lose Her 110: Never would have predicted it, but Mami hung tough.

2. as imper.: wait a minute, bear with me.

2001

(con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 97: Hang tough, I gotta pick somethin’ up. I’ll be right back.