0
Blackcheetah Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

a tough hand

0I read this phase many time.But still can't get the exat meaning.02br
02br
001.Running with these two men is incredibly inspirational for me. And it should be inspirational to anybody who has been dealt 01b01font00a tough hand02font02b00.02br
02br
002.Government deals online gamblers 01font00a tough hand.02font02br
02br
003.I back him 100 percent in making sure that if there are people who are doing something inappropriate, they ought to be sanctioned and they ought to be sanctioned with as much of 01font00a tough hand02font00 as we can possibly bring to the issue.02br
02br
00moreover, I'd be very appreciated if the latter part of the third sentence is paraphased. (i.e. with as much of 01font00a tough hand02font00 as we can possibly bring to the issue)0-
  

Top answer

0The first two are the same metaphor. If you are playing cards and you're dealt bad cards, you have a tough hand to play. 0-

— BarbaraPA

  • 0The first two are the same metaphor.
  • If you are playing cards and you're dealt bad cards, you have a tough hand to play.
  • 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

9 Answers
0
0The first two are the same metaphor. If you are playing cards and you're dealt bad cards, you have a tough hand to play. It's used as a metaphor to mean that you have been given a difficult situation to overcome.02br
02br
00The third one is not very natural to me, but it just means that it should be addresses with as much firmness/severity as possible.0-
0
0
0Hi GG, thank you for the quick reply again.02br
02br
00the third sentence is from a piece of news on CNN. The background information is that a supervisor is inspecting the Secretary Service which was racially charged by a noose found in its training building, and that he released his comments when interviewed by CNN.0-
0
0
0I am waiting for someone who can help me with analysing the third sentence. So I reply this post to forward it in front of the list.0-
0
0
0Like I said, it should be dealt with using as much severity as possible.0-
0
0
0I agree so. but what is the exact meaning of "a tough hand" here? and can the prep. "of"(as much of a tough hand) be omitted? 02br
02br
00Best wishes for you,Blackcheetah.0-
0
0
0 As has already been explained, that the perpetrators should be dealt with very severely.02br
00 No, "of" is needed here.0-
0
0
0thanks a lot. I think I've got the whole meaning of the sentence. Since "a tough hand"here isn't a phrase, it only means "severe means".So I just wonder if it can be replaced as "with as much tough hands as we can bring.....".0-
0
0
0 No. "A tough hand" is the idiomatic phrase. You would have to reword the sentence - for instance "with as much severity as required". 0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10blackcheetah12cite10with as much of 11font10a tough hand12font10 as we can possibly bring12blockquote
10 = with as much severity as we can possibly bring02br
00CJ 0-
0

Related Questions