the rub

Idioms  

1. The difficulty or problem, as in We'd love to come but there's the rub—we can't get reservations. This expression may come from lawn bowling, where rub refers to an unevenness in the ground that impedes the ball. Its most famous use is in one of Hamlet's soliloquies (Hamlet, 3:1): “To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come ... Must give us pause.” [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

Although the ability to make snow has been a game changer for resorts in North America, here’s the rub: Snowmaking works only when it’s cold.

From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026

For Slot, who has regularly insisted that Liverpool have been unfortunate on many an occasion this season, there was an acceptable that his side had finally got the rub of the green.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026

Public-market investors had visibility into the 2000 bubble, but much less today—and there’s the rub.

From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025

Here is the rub: Microsoft in its financial reports identifies OpenAI as an equity-method investment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 10, 2025

It was the liquid part that was the rub.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Related Words

• barrier
• bug
• crunch
• difficulty
• disadvantage
• drawback
• glitch
• hitch
• holdup
• hurdle
• impediment
• inconvenience
• obstacle
• stumbling block