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

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—On a weekday morning this summer, Amy Cox instructed a small group of third-graders to rub their palms together, then clap out syllables for the words “apple,” “turtle” and “table.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Former USA goalkeeper Tony Meola is one pundit who has suggested they are now on their way to being able to rub shoulders with football's elite.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

In some cases, the fish attempted to rub off the mark within the first hour of seeing a mirror.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

His law firm had invented “Mass Torts Made Perfect” and ran it as a conference for elite plaintiffs’ attorneys nationwide to rub elbows and strategize, making him the unofficial president of the polo club posse.

From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026

“I’m sorry, Orion,” Glory said, reaching down to rub between his ears.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

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