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Glite Dictionary
tough call

tough call

19 5.3
A difficult choice when two options are equally hard
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : decisión difícil
  • Deciding between the two job offers was a tough call, as they both had great benefits.
  • make tough calls
  • a very tough call
  • always a tough call

You know, that's a really tough call to make.

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Examples

  • I know it's a tough call, but it's one you're going to have to make rather quickly.

    To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

  • The vote is in, and you all agree that, while it was a tough call,

    Blog text (30)

  • And we had to make a really tough call to shut down all in studio classes.

  • You really think she can make the tough calls?

    The Colony (2013)

  • That is such a tough call, but...

    Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

  • This is gonna be a really tough call.

    You Got Served (2004)

  • This is a tough call.

    Speechless (1994)

  • Jim Jones, the history professor, says this is a tough call.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The President and his team are unable to make the tough calls.

    Blog text (11)

  • Reducing the deficit and controlling debt today will require the U.S. government to make similarly tough calls and start setting priorities among missions rather than simply layering on additional missions, as proposed in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

dilemma
vstough call
258 4.2

A situation where you must choose between two or more bad options

is a hard decision because options are balanced rather than clearly bad
toughie
vstough call
  • Informal
4 7.6

A person, question, or thing that is very difficult to deal with

is specifically a difficult choice between similar or challenging options

Antonyms

easy
∞ 1.0

Not hard to do, understand, or achieve

obvious choice
12 1.6

The best option that is easy for everyone to see

How Difficult

tough call
  • Informal
19 5.3
no-brainer
  • Informal
45 3.4

Surface Forms

tough call singular
tough calls plural

Morphology

tough + call

The meaning 'a difficult decision' is transparently built from 'tough' (difficult) + 'call' (a decision or judgment): the adjective directly modifies the noun to yield the intended sense. This compositional pattern is common across languages and in English usage, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Tough call comes from the image of a referee making a quick call in a game. When that decision is hard, people say it is a 'tough call', so the phrase now means 'a difficult decision'.