toughie

• Nom désignant soit un jeune délinquant agressif et brutal, soit une question ou un problème particulièrement difficile ou complexe à résoudre.

A noun referring to either an aggressive and violent young criminal, or a particularly difficult or baffling question or problem.

1. Aggressive young criminalB2informal

   A young person who is aggressive, violent, and often involved in criminal activities.

   Jeune délinquant violent

   • The neighborhood was scared of the local toughie.
   • He was known as a toughie who would start fights for no reason.
   • The police arrested a group of toughies causing trouble downtown.

   Synonymesbullydelinquenthoodlumhooliganruffianthugtoughyob

2. Difficult problem or questionB2informal

   A particularly challenging or baffling question, problem, or situation.

   Problème difficile

   • The final exam had a real toughie that stumped everyone.
   • This math problem is a toughie; I can't figure it out.
   • The crossword puzzle had a toughie that took me an hour to solve.

   Synonymesbrain-teaserchallengeconundrumenigmaposerproblempuzzlerriddlestumper