Choose the correct meaning of the underlined phrase from the options given below:
The toughest nut to crack is the profound philosophical question: What is life?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → difficult to resolve
A tough nut to crack is a problem that is very difficult to solve, or a person who is hard to deal with, as a nut with a hard shell is hard to break open. "The toughest nut to crack" is the hardest problem of all: the question "What is life?" is the most difficult to resolve.
Example: For the new manager, the falling sales figures were a tough nut to crack.