What it means
A tough cookie is a person who’s hard to break, even when life’s giving them grief. They stay calm, keep going, and don’t crumble under pressure, like a biscuit that refuses to snap. Often said with respect, sometimes with a bit of surprise, when someone takes knocks and still turns up smiling.
Usage examples
"Boss tried to rattle her in the meeting, but she just smiled, fixed the mess, and carried on. Absolute tough cookie, that one."
"She lost her job and her flat in one week but bounced back, a real tough cookie."
"Do not worry about him, he is a tough cookie, he has been through worse."
Where it comes from
In American slang from the early twentieth century, a cookie became a way of talking about a person, the way we still say a smart cookie. A tough cookie is the hard-baked variety, someone who does not crumble under pressure, takes the knocks and keeps going. Resilient, unsentimental and not easily pushed around.
Other ways to say it
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