tough nut to crack
English
Alternative forms
- tougher nut to crack, toughest nut to crack, difficult nut to crack, hard nut to crack
Noun
tough nut to crack (plural tough nuts to crack)
- (idiomatic) A problem that is challenging to solve.
- (idiomatic, by extension) A situation, person, group, etc. which is difficult to deal with.
- (idiomatic) A place, opportunity, etc. to which it is difficult to gain entry.
- An amount that is difficult to finance.
Usage notes
- Tough/er/est nut to crack is by far the most common form in COCA (US), about equal to hard/er/est nut to crack at BNC (UK).
Translations
challenging problem to solve
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