the rub
Core complicating factor
The rub is the central difficulty or obstacle in a situation—the thing that complicates an otherwise straightforward matter.
The phrase comes from Shakespeare's "Hamlet": Ay, there's the rub.
Originally a lawn bowling term for an impediment that diverts the ball from its path, it now appears almost exclusively in this idiomatic sense: The plan sounds good, but here's the rub—we can't afford it.
- hurdleBarrier to leap over
- tensionStretched or strained state
- impedimentThing that obstructs progress
- dilemmaForced choice between undesirables
- snagUnforeseen complication
irony · conundrum · roadblock · paradox · quandary · friction · discord · clash · bottleneck · crux · resistance · solution · essence · catch · obstruction · confrontation · complication · pitfall
difficulty versus ease
the rubsmooth sailing
Untroubled progress forward
clear path · no problem · a breeze · plain sailing · child's play