IdiomFood & Drink
English
Englisha hard nut to crack
Meaning: A difficult problem, or a person who is hard to deal with.
Example: “The final exam was a hard nut to crack.”
Origin: Some nuts resist any ordinary nutcracker. The phrase is found in English from the 18th century; Benjamin Franklin used it in 1745.
Equivalents in other languages
Portuguese: Descascar o abacaxi Literally: To peel the pineapple
Italian: essere un osso duro Literally: To be a hard bone
More English idioms
- go off without a hitch To happen smoothly, with no problems.
- lose one's shirt To lose all one's money.
- get the wrong end of the stick To misunderstand something completely.
- have a bee in one's bonnet To be obsessed with one idea.
- put down roots To settle somewhere permanently.
- on tenterhooks In anxious suspense.
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