The expression “a tough nut to crack” is now commonly used to indicate a nuisance, a hindrance or in general difficult and annoying problem to solve. The origin is found in the rural and popular context, where the cat was an animal often present in homes, but its meaning could be explained with two different interpretations.
The first refers to the ancient practice of catch and skin the wild cat, The felis sylvestris, which was used for the production of furs. This operation was particularly complex, not only due to the difficulty of capturing such a cunning and elusive animal without ruining its precious coat, but also due to its rebellious and aggressive nature. The wild cat, in fact, is very similar to the domestic cat we know today, but being wilder and more ferocious, it managed to make the task of “peeling” it almost impossible.
However, there is also a second possible explanation, less truculent, for the origin of this expression. “Peel” in Italian may not necessarily refer to the removal of the skin, but rather the hair. In this case, the operation would consist of shear or wash a domestic cat, actions that are notoriously poorly tolerated by felines. Anyone who has tried to wash or comb a cat knows how they can react with extreme irritation, scratching and wriggling to free themselves from what for them is unwanted attention. This second interpretation therefore refers to the difficulty not so much of carrying out a bloody action, but of carrying out a task which, due to the nature of the cat, is nevertheless demanding and annoying.
Both explanations share one point in common: the idea of having to face a complicated and unpleasant task, which requires a lot of patience and determination. The expression “a tough nut to crack” has become consolidated precisely to indicate situations which, although not impossible to resolve, require greater effort than expected.