toughie

American  

[tuhf-ee] / ˈtʌf i /

Or toughy

noun

Informal.

plural

toughies

1. a tough person, especially one who is belligerent.

   The sheriff was a local toughie with very little patience for outsiders.

2. a difficult problem or situation.

   That math test was a real toughie!

3. a harsh or blunt book, movie, etc.

---

Etymology

Origin of toughie

First recorded in 1920–25; tough + -ie

Example Sentences

This year, Sartore photographed Toughie, the world's last known living Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2017

He also hopes it will prevent other species from meeting the same fate as Toughie and Nola.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2017

Mandica's son, then a two-year-old, dubbed the last survivor Toughie.

From National Geographic

Set the uplift-minded Armorel and the hairy-chested Toughie to living in one of the meanest streets of one of London's slums, and the stew is likely to become too thick to stir.

From Time Magazine Archive

Toughie, the world's last Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog and a symbol of the extinction crisis, has died at his home in the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

From National Geographic