can't hack it

can't hack it

slang Cannot complete or tolerate a task or situation. All that job taught me is that I can't hack it as a salesman. I go to Florida every winter because I just can't hack it in the cold, and I'd rather not be miserable for months.
See also: hack
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

can't hack it

unable to do the job. I thought delivering papers would be an easy job, but I just can't hack it. If you can't hack it, let me know, and I'll help you out.
See also: hack
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

can't hack it

INFORMAL
If someone can't hack it in a particular situation or job, they do not have the skills or qualities necessary to cope with it. You have to be strong and confident and never give the slightest impression that you can't hack it. Note: Sometimes people say that someone can hack it, to mean that they can cope in a particular situation or job. Smith tried to convince them that he can hack it as a police chief.
See also: hack
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • hack
  • hack it
  • hack it, to
  • hack up
  • hack out
  • argue
  • argue (one) into
  • argue into doing
  • hack away
  • can't stand
References in periodicals archive
It's long past time Scotland set up an elite paramilitary law enforcement agency as the police simply can't hack it any more.
Letter: Your view - Police power
In midfield we still lack something, perhaps Kennedy, Anderton, Cameron etc just can't hack it anymore?
You The Jury: WOLVES
So, the ultimate lesson of the Cartersville case is likely this: Erin Brockovich simply can't hack it anymore.
Burning Atlanta: all the old regulatory weapons couldn't reform the Georgia power plant that is America's single biggest polluter. But a new law is working
"We were given so much food but I couldn't stick the sushi, can't hack it, wouldn't touch it.
Milton finds paradise - well, almost
Are Pentagon officials really saying that gays can't hack it in the military?
Cracking under pressure?
In the long term, Canadian industry will have to become competitive and if they can't hack it for the world market, they'll close down.
Beyond borders: the challenge of Canadian foundrymen
I've talked with people who work in the ghetto, and they say a third of the people just can't hack it. That seems high to me.
Working on welfare; how to reform the system
But poor Keira can't hack it. At the King Arthur premiere last week, she wore a pounds 250,000 diamond necklace by Asprey and said: 'It's making me nervous.
Lucy Sweet: Fancy a life swap?