tough cookie

tough cookie (plural tough cookies)

1. (informal) A person who can endure physical or mental hardship; a hardened, strong-willed person.
   • 1973 December 10, “Ioannidis: Power in the Wings”, in Time:

     An austere, hard-lining rightist, who lives alone, Ioannidis is described by one Washington military official as "a real tough cookie."

   • 2002, Picabo Street, Dana White, Picabo: Nothing to Hide, Contemporary Books, →ISBN, page 6:

     I run to Micki and give her a hug. She was racing with a broken thumb — a tough cookie, just like me.

   • 2005 October 3, Liz Austin, “Miers had stormy tenure at Texas Lottery Commission”, in Spokesman-Review:

     "Although she's a small-framed woman, we all believed she came through the Marines and maybe ate nails for breakfast because she's one tough cookie," said Horace Taylor […]

2. (informal) A hardy, resilient animal or plant.
   • 2001, Sybille Engels, Basic Gardening: Everything You Need to Make Your Garden Grow, Silverback Books, →ISBN, page 134:

     Boxwood is a pretty tough cookie. Wind, cold, wet, exhaust fumes, and industrial pollution are of no consequence.

   • 2006 March 13, “Katrina Cat”, in Jet:

     Though its name is Cupcake, Tristan Carter's cat proved it was one tough cookie surviving on its own since Hurricane Katrina forced Carter to abandon it […]

3. (informal) Something troublesome or difficult to handle.
   • 2002, Steven Smith, editor, Encyclopedia of North American Sporting Dogs, Willow Creek Press, →ISBN, page 63:

     The pup that struggles constantly might be one tough cookie when it comes to training; […]

• (person able to endure hardship): survivor, trooper