tough

tough¹ W3S2 [tʌf] adj comparative tougher superlative toughest

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1¦(difficult)¦

2¦(strong person)¦

3¦(strong material)¦

4¦(strict/firm)¦

5¦(violent area)¦

6 tough!/that's tough!

7 tough luck!

8 tough shit!

9¦(violent person)¦

10¦(food)¦

11 tough love

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[: Old English; Origin: toh]

1.) ¦(DIFFICULT)¦

difficult to do or deal with

▪ It was a tough race.

▪ She' s had a tough life.

▪ The company admitted that it had been a tough year.

▪ Tough decisions will have to be made.

▪ The reporters were asking a lot of tough questions .

have a tough time (of it)

(=face a lot of difficult problems)

▪ The family has had a tough time of it these last few months.

it's tough doing sth

▪ It's tough being married to a cop.

be tough on sb

(=cause problems for someone or make their life difficult)

▪ Having to stay indoors all day is tough on a kid.

▪ It was a tough call (=a difficult decision) , but we had to cancel the game because of the weather.

▪ I find his books pretty tough going (=difficult to read) .

▪ Gage predicted the president's proposal would be a tough sell (=something that is difficult to persuade someone about) before Congress. AmE

when the going gets tough (the tough get going) informal (=used to say that when a situation becomes difficult, strong people take the necessary action to deal with it)

2.) ¦(STRONG PERSON)¦

physically or emotionally strong and able to deal with difficult situations

▪ The men who work on the oil rigs are a tough bunch.

tough cookie/customer informal (=someone who is very determined to do what they want and not what other people want)

as tough as nails/as tough as old boots

(=very tough)

▪ He's as tough as nails - a good man to have on the team.

3.) ¦(STRONG MATERIAL)¦

not easily broken or made weaker

▪ tough, durable plastic

▪ a very tough, hard-wearing cloth

4.) ¦(STRICT/FIRM)¦

very strict or firm

tough on/with

▪ My mother was very tough on my sister.

▪ It's time to get tough with drunk drivers.

▪ The EU is taking a tough line with the UK over this issue.

5.) ¦(VIOLENT AREA)¦

a tough part of a town has a lot of crime or violence

tough neighborhood/area/part of town etc

▪ a tough area of Chicago

6.) tough!/that's tough!

spoken used when you do not have any sympathy with someone

▪ 'I'm getting wet.' 'Tough! You should've brought your umbrella.'

▪ She didn't tell us she was coming, so if this screws up her plans that's just tough.

7.) tough luck!

spoken

a) used when you do not have any sympathy for someone's problems

▪ Well, that's just their tough luck! It was their mistake.

b) BrE used when you feel sympathy about something bad that has happened to someone

▪ You didn't get the job? Oh, tough luck!

8.) tough shit!

spoken not polite used when you do not have any sympathy for someone's problems

9.) ¦(VIOLENT PERSON)¦

likely to behave violently and having no gentle qualities

▪ one of football's most notorious tough guys

▪ tough young thugs looking for trouble

10.)¦(FOOD)¦

difficult to cut or eat

≠ ↑tender

▪ The meat was tough and hard to chew.

▪ the tough outer leaves of the cabbage

11.) tough love

a way of helping someone to change their behaviour by treating them in a kind but strict way

>toughly adv

>toughness n [U]

tough ²

tough² v

tough out [tough sth<=>out] phr v

to deal with a difficult situation by being determined, rather than leaving or changing your decision

▪ She told herself to be brave and tough it out .

tough ³

tough³ n

old-fashioned someone who often behaves in a violent way

tough ⁴

tough⁴ adv

in a way that shows you are very determined

▪ Washington played tough in the second half of the game.

▪ You're talking tough now but you wait until you get into the interview.