A tough nut to crack (English idioms and phrases) | Learn American English in 1 Minute a Day

A tough nut to crack is a way to describe somebody who is difficult to get to know. They are secretive and private for whatever reason. Check out this video for all the details you need to know about this English idiom. A tough nut to crack meaning: Someone who is difficult to get to know. A tough not to crack origin: Used since the 1700's. Refers to how it's not easy to open a nut because of the hard shell. Depending on the nut, it's not possible to do it without a special tool. Examples: "She's a hard nut to crack. It's been years and I still have no idea if she's married or not." "My boss is a hard nut to crack. I can't figure out if he likes me or not." Want to find out more? Check out: https://eslspeaking.org/american-english-idioms/ The Big Book of American Idioms: https://amzn.to/3oo2OYB Even more Ideas for the TEFL Classroom: https://eslspeaking.org/ https://www.facebook.com/eslspeaking https://www.pinterest.ca/eslspeaking/ https://www.instagram.com/jackie.bolen/ https://www.tiktok.com/@englishwithjackie #learningenglishwithjackie #englishidioms #idioms #idiomsandphrases Tags: a tough nut to crack, a hard nut to crack, a tough nut to crack meaning, meaning of a hard nut to crack, meaning of a tough nut to crack, a tough nut to crack idiom, idiom a tough nut to crack, idiom a hard nut to crack, idiom a tough nut to crack, what does a hard nut to crack mean, what does a tough nut to crack mean Transcript: Hey, it's Jackie Bolen from eslspeaking.org. So today's idiom is. a tough nut to crack. Or, a hard nut to crack. Tough and hard are very, very similar so a tough nut to crack is someone who is difficult to get to know. It comes from, if you think about nuts, like a walnut, for example, you can't really break a walnut with your bare hands. You need a special tool of some kind so that's why it's called a hard nut to crack. Some examples. My boss is a tough nut to crack. I'm not even sure if he likes me. The next one. My husband is a hard nut to crack. It took me years to get to know him when we were dating. And finally, I've heard that professor Bolen is a tough nut to crack. It's difficult to get an A in her class alright. So that's it. If you like this video, please check out my book on Amazon: The Big Book of American Idioms.