there's the rub

Here is the biggest problem or difficulty (with the situation being discussed). The phrase was famously used in Shakespeare's Hamlet (as "there's the rub") and is now seen in many different variations, including "therein lies the rub" and "that's the rub." All I need to do to get my car back is pay the fine, but here's the rub—my wallet is locked in the glove compartment.

That is the biggest problem or difficulty (with the situation being discussed). The phrase was famously used in Shakespeare's Hamlet (as "there's the rub") and is now seen in many different variations, including "here's the rub" and "therein lies the rub." A: "All you need to do to get your car back is pay the fine." B: "And that's the rub: my wallet is in my car."

There is the biggest problem or difficulty (with the situation being discussed). Seen in many different variations, including "here's the rub," "that's the rub," and "therein lies the rub," the phrase was famously used in Shakespeare's Hamlet. A: "All you need to do to get your car back is pay the fine." B: "But there's the rub—my wallet is in my car."

COMMON You say there's the rub or therein lies the rub when you are stating what is difficult, impossible or unfair about a situation. If you are in a hurry, you can get straight onto the train and buy a ticket on board but you can only buy a single ticket — not a return — and there's the rub. She claims she is seen as `a ferocious, man-hating feminist' but therein lies the rub. Women often imagine they are being criticized when they are not. Note: This expression is variable and people sometimes use structures such as here's the rub or there lies the rub. When there are fewer orders, staff will work as little as 28 hours a week. When demand increases, workers will have to do an extra 10 hours. But here's the rub. They will get no extra cash for it. Note: This is from the well-known speech that begins `to be or not to be' in Shakespeare's play `Hamlet', act 3 scene 1, when Hamlet is wondering whether or not to commit suicide: `To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come...'

There’s the drawback; that’s the impediment. This term may come from the ancient game of bowls, in which rub meant some uneveness in the ground that hindered or diverted the free movement of the bowl. It was transferred to other kinds of hindrance by the late sixteenth century, but the term really gained widespread currency through Shakespeare’s use of it in Hamlet’s soliloquy: “To sleep; perchance to dream: ay there’s the rub: for in that sleep of death what dreams may come” (Hamlet, 3.1).