toughien.adj.
/ˈtʌfi/, U.S. /ˈtəfi/ colloquial (originally U.S.).
1. A tough person.
a. = tough guy n. at tough adj. and n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily constitution > bodily strength > [noun] > robustness > person
stalworthc1400
Ironsidea1470
stalwart1508
iron man1643
pine knot1836
iron woman1900
hard rock1922
toughie1929
tough guy1932
hard-ass1962
hardbody1980
1929 Princeton Alumni Weekly 24 May 981/2 The toughie is the man of the hour when the policeman's whistle blows. It is always nice to be close to him when the riot calls are turned in.
1938 New Republic 21 Sept. 188/1 Getting the toughies off the street.
1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely xxvii. 168 A toughie..came in and showed me a blackjack.
1959 She May 65/2 Luxury-lovers had better stick to planes or boats. A trip in the ‘Bombay Bus’ is definitely one for the toughies.
1971 J. Mandelkau Buttons x. 121 A group of bikers riding out for kicks every Friday and Saturday night, getting drunk and swinging back and forth over the white line behind the toughie they would call ‘our leader’.
b. A person of aggressive or uncompromising views.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [noun] > obstinate or stubborn person
obstinate1435
mumpsimus1530
obstinant1581
ram-head1605
sitfast1606
stiff-stander1642
obduratea1665
ironface1697
sturdy1704
stiffrump1709
sturdy-boots1762
stickfast1827
impracticable1829
mule1846
bullet-head1848
hardshell1849
die-hard1857
hog on ice1857
last-ditcher1862
thick-and-thinnite1898
jusqu'auboutiste1916
stiff-neck1921
dead-ender1956
toughie1960
the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [noun] > inflexibility > inflexible person
rigida1646
rigidist1716
inexorable1748
stickler1799
tough1928
no man1930
toughie1960
hard-ass1962
jobsworth1970
1960 Sunday Express 24 July 16/5 Mr. Butlin is a toughie too... A man who has learned to cater for the mood of the people and take full advantage of their longer purses... I think he will continue to prosper despite credit squeezes, Chancellors, the rain, and other vexations.
1980 I. Murdoch Nuns & Soldiers i. 84 Daisy had women friends..‘Women's Libbers’, and left wing toughies.
1984 Observer 8 Apr. 12/4 Mondale may think that he makes a good political toughie.
2. A difficult problem, enterprise, or contest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > that which is difficult > a difficult thing or person
sluta1475
nut1540
Tartar1669
bitch1699
handful1755
tickler1825
pebble1829
hard ticket1847
tough nut1862
bear1876
Roger1885
trier1893
peb1903
heller1923
pawful1925
honey1932
sod1936
toughie1945
motherfucker1948
hard-arse1966
1945 Good Housek. June 230/2 How about the $80 question?..Think now. This is a toughie.
1947 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Jan. 1/7 West has another toughie for Congress... Would it be O.K. if the District used tax money to buy uniforms for the policemen's band?
1972 J. L. Dillard Black Eng. vii. 281 Children who speak Standard English may react to words like island,..with ‘That's a toughie!’
1972 D. Lees Zodiac 6 It sounded, as Harry put it, ‘a doddle’, but even if it had looked a toughy the Riviera would have sold it.
3. attributive or as adj.
ΚΠ
1962 John o' London's 9 Feb. 138/4 The nice, ‘toughie’ Irishman.
1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 June 644/3 Admirers of Stephen Becher's urbane When the War is Over will be surprised at the toughie metaphysics of the opening of his new novel.
1977 Film & Television Technician Jan. 9/3 Bob was one of those ‘toughie’ production managers, greatly concerned not only with the budget, but with the film and the people working on it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1929