noun

• 1A person who is tough, determined, and not easily daunted.

  More example sentences

  • ‘she was a toughie on the phone’
  • ‘When the going gets tough, you toughies really do get up - so make the extra effort this week to help others not fortunate enough to have been born Capricorns with some of your true grit, fortitude and soul support.’
  • ‘The toughies she encountered during her teaching career knew exactly where they stood with her and respected her for it.’
  • ‘College students are held in low esteem, thanks to commercial movies that regularly feature youth as toughies amid free-flowing booze, drugs, and gals.’
  • ‘While we wondered at their street-corner, street-clothed hardiness a couple of other toughies turned up.’
  • ‘I may be an interior designer but I am a toughie - and that's part due to my Yorkshire background, I'm sure.’
  • ‘In this genre, they don't come more distinctive, and the haunchy swoop of the back end is a steroidal depiction of a toughie driving round the block.’
  • ‘But Australians seem to respect someone who acts like a toughie.’
  • ‘She's the toughie; he's the softie, leading with his heart, trying to tamp down his prim lust.’
  • ‘But Bogart's iconic image as the toughie was something he could rarely escape, even off screen.’
  • ‘James Cagney was a screen toughie, but the poor guy had to dance and sing for the Academy members to take note of him.’
  • ‘There is no doubt that behind Goodwin's schoolboy looks lurks a toughie.’
  • ‘They're toughies, but they also respond to kindness.’
  • ‘Monkeys who want to rule the world will be slapped down by these troublesome toughies called Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.’
  • ‘When she was still in her early teens, this man who was a toughie, jumped on to the stage after her dance, brandishing a knife, and told her, ‘You have to be mine.’’
  • ‘But I think if I were a man, I'd be a real toughie, a kind of a gruff - I'd be a man's man.’
  • ‘You don't have to be such a toughie or one of the guys all the time you know.’
  • ‘The toughie from Madison Wisconsin, Morel, might be a different story.’
  • ‘Jean-Pierre's father likes to regale me of his days as a young motorcycle toughie in the Tehran nightclubs.’
  • ‘Flash forward to their senior year: Lucy is a brainiac virgin; Kit is an engaged, self centered snob; and Mimi is a trailer trash talking toughie who had the unfortunate luck of getting pregnant.’
  • ‘All that was missing from the scene were a couple of pin-striped toughies carrying violin cases.’

  Synonyms

  ruffian, rowdy, thug, hoodlum, hooligan, brute, bully, bully boy, rough, gangster, desperado

• 2A difficult problem or question.

  More example sentences

  • ‘Whom do you admire most? That's a toughie’
  • ‘But some students cracked real toughies, too, without batting an eyelid.’
  • ‘That's a toughie, because there's no way to get around it - if they're fat-free, the cookies aren't so great, and you end up eating more.’
  • ‘That's a toughie, because they sometimes want detail.’
  • ‘I know this is a toughie, but it just has to be non-negotiable.’
  • ‘It was a toughie, but we finally got it all right and enjoyed great panoramic views of the Silicon Valley and Bay below.’
  • ‘So it does not make sense to solve a toughie and impress the examiner (which anyway will be a computer).’
  • ‘The musicals round was potentially going to be a toughie.’
  • ‘Last night Darren, Drew and I went to the Retro Bar pop quiz. £97 was up for grabs so the quiz was a toughie.’
  • ‘It's a toughie this one, but there's a strategically placed bench half way up!’
  • ‘Pubs, this is a toughie, I don't know what to suggest.’
  • ‘It's a toughie but I'd have to go with the Campino.’
  • ‘That's a toughie to get across with such limited resources.’
  • ‘I know that ankle injuries are toughies to come back from, but this is getting a little extreme, isn't it?’
  • ‘‘Herm, that's a toughie,’ Lisa said, placing her finger on her chin, appearing to be in deep thought, contemplating all the wonders of the universe.’
  • ‘That's a toughie, or should have been, but isn't, because difficult issues, such as paternity suits, or a grown man in an elf costume wanting to play with other people's children, are brushed under the carpet.’
  • ‘Here's a toughie: yep, I'm on the rebound from a decent relationship with a decent guy who just wasn't ready to be responsible to a committed relationship.’
  • ‘Now a toughie: Why in its main business of peddling computers does this same company have so much trouble elevating its minuscule single-digit market share?’
  • ‘This is a toughie - you need to look at your own set of skills, experience and ability realistically to identify where your weaknesses lie and address them.’
  • ‘That's a toughie - but here's one strong opinion of why each of the eight would win if it went toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs.’
  • ‘This is a toughie to answer because I think it depends very much on the wider nature of the person involved.’

  Synonyms

  difficult question, awkward problem, knotty problem, vexed question, tough one, puzzle, mystery, conundrum, puzzler, enigma, riddle