hard nut to crack
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.88 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
2
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A problem that is challenging to solve.
noun
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hard, nut, crack.
Example Sentences
- "He saw the dilemma. . . . It was a hard nut to crack. He could see no way out of it."
- "Germany's inflation proves a hard nut to crack."
- "The coast lad found the veteran Mike McTigue a hard nut to crack and judging from the look on the Californian's face when the final bell sounded, he was mighty happy that the fight was over."
- ""But Belarus is a hard nut to crack, and it has used these methods to slip out of these East-West pincers before," says Alexander Klaskovsky."
- "The next day Archie, with Andrew Macpherson and Cluny Campbell, made their way through the woods until within sight of the castle. . . . "It would be a hard nut to crack, Sir Archie," his lieutenant said. "Unless by famine, the place could scarce be taken.""
- "Durango, however, may be a hard nut to crack, as it is strong strategically and is reported guarded by 4000 rebels."