Idioms

a tall order

This page is about the idiom a tall order

Meaning

If you say something's a tall order, you mean that it'll be hard to do or difficult to achieve.

For example

  • Winning six gold medals at the Olympic Games is a tall order, but not impossible. Mark Spitz won seven at the 1972 Olympics.

  • Getting kids to read 600-page books is a tall order these days, but the writer of the Harry Potter books has managed to do it.

Quick Quiz

We told the boss we'd do our best, but it's a tall order to

a. take more days off

b. double our sales in a year

c. increase our debts in six months
a) take more days off b) double our sales in a year c) increase our debts in six months

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Common English Idioms

Contributor: Matt Errey