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. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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 Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.