# What does ‘a hard nut to crack’ mean?

To “a hard nut to crack” means to a difficult problem or person to deal with. Recorded in English from the 18th century; Brewer's lists it as a proverbial phrase.

## What it means

- Recorded in English from the 18th century; Brewer's lists it as a proverbial phrase.

## Action steps

1. Common description of tough problems.
2. Example: That contract clause is a hard nut to crack.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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