tough egg (to crack)
tough egg (to crack)
A person, thing, situation, or problem that is particularly difficult to understand, solve, or deal with. I've been dating Jenny for over a year, and I still think she's a tough egg to crack! Figuring out the best way to modernize our product without alienating existing customers is definitely a tough egg to crack. The spy we captured is a tough egg; he hasn't said a thing since we began the interrogation.
See also: egg, tough
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
tough egg to crack
and tough nut to crack n. a person or thing that is hard to figure out or hard to deal with. She won’t talk. She’s going to be a tough nut to crack! I wish Jill wasn’t such a tough nut to crack.
See also: crack, egg, tough
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- a hard egg to crack
- a hard nut (to crack)
- a hard/tough nut
- a tough nut
- hard nut to crack
- bit of rough
- a bit of rough
- a mother hen
- in years
- make a note of (something)