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

The drying ground was ultimately against him there, and that's the rub.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Delpique had started testing the brisket recipe three weeks earlier, telling his chefs to adjust the cook time, then the rub, which tasted too strong.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025

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

From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025

It stung her, the rub of Shan’s dismissal, and then it became a prickly resentment directed at Blaine, because she wished he would not agree so heartily with his sister.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

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