there(in) lies the rub

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 "that's the rub." A: "All you need to do to get your car back is pay the fine." B: "But therein lies the rub—my wallet is in my car." Even if they gave me immunity for testifying against him, I knew I could be the target of his retaliation, and there lay the rub.

therein lies (something)

That is or was the cause of something. The story has a huge cast of interesting characters, but therein lies the problem: none of them gets enough time to feel fully developed or important. If rumors are to be believed, regulators are going to strike down the merger deal between them, and therein lies our opportunity to snatch up the investment.

there's the rub

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."

See also: rub

there's the rub

therein lies the rub

OLD-FASHIONED

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...'

See also: rub

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

there's (or here's) the rub

that is the crucial difficulty or problem. literary

This expression comes from Shakespeare 's Hamlet: ‘To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause’. In the game of bowls, a rub is an impediment that prevents a bowl from running smoothly.

1998 Times Even worse, and here is the rub, nobody could say who put what paper in which tier of whose red box.

See also: rub

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

therein lies...

(formal) used to emphasize the result of a particular situation: He works extremely hard and therein lies the key to his success.

there's the rub

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).

See also: rub

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