hard act to follow

Idioms

Also, tough act to follow. An outstanding performance or individual. For example, Lucy was a terrific group leader—hers is a hard act to follow, or Bob's record is excellent—it will be a tough act to follow. This expression, dating from about 1900, was originally used for a particularly good vaudeville act that made the next act look poor by comparison. It soon was extended to other enterprises.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

hard act to follow

"We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were always going to be a hard act to follow.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

David Lemieux, the Dead’s audiovisual archivist and legacy manager, thinks that “American Beauty” was simply a hard act to follow, that the general listener was expecting more songs like “Truckin’.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2023

But that reflects high domestic ownership of government debt and ultra loose monetary policy - a hard act to follow with higher inflation.

From Reuters ● Aug. 14, 2023

Still, her friends said, she will be a hard act to follow.

From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023