have one's work cut out
Meaning: To face a difficult task.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “With a new baby and a new job, they have their work cut out for them.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Probably from tailoring, where cloth is cut out before sewing begins; originally it meant having work prepared. The sense of a hard task ahead is from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Avoir du pain sur la planche — literally: To have bread on the board
More idioms — Daily Life
- mum's the word — Keep this secret; say nothing.
- search me — I don't know.
- be rolling in it — To be very rich.
- be worth one's weight in gold — To be extremely valuable or useful.
- the flip side of the coin — The opposite, usually less pleasant, aspect of something.
- a den of thieves — A place full of dishonest people.
More English idioms
- hale and hearty — Healthy and strong, especially in old age.
- find one's sea legs — To get used to a boat's movement; to grow comfortable in a new situation.
- break a leg — Good luck, said to a performer before going on stage.
- hey presto — Said when something happens suddenly, as if by magic.
- set the cat among the pigeons — To say or do something that causes trouble or uproar.
- storm clouds are gathering — Trouble is coming.
From our false friends
- Sensible — Actually means 'sensitive'. For sensible/level-headed, say raisonnable.
- Librairie — Actually means 'bookshop'. A library is une bibliothèque.
- Constipado — Actually means 'having a head cold'. Estoy constipado = I have a cold.