A: How about going to the beach with us this weekend? B: I can’t. I have to do some overtime. A: Why? B: Our company’s new product has sold well in Europe. But the U.S. market is a tougher nut to crack. The boss has asked me to make minor modifications to the design. Note: “A tough nut” refers to a person or thing that presents difficulties. Just imagine a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell, like the walnut. It’s not easy to crack the nut and eat its kernel. In Chinese, people say “a hard bone” (硬骨头) to express the same thing. |