therein lies the rub

English

Alternative forms

• there lies the rub
• there is the rub

Etymology

Misquotation or paraphrasing from Shakespeare's Hamlet: "ay, there's the rub".

Phrase

therein lies the rub

1. That is where the problem is.

   I tried to back up my database to a USB flash drive, but it isn't big enough. Therein lies the rub.

Translations

that is where the problem is

• Dutch: daar wringt de schoen, daar wringt het schoentje
• Finnish: siinä ongelma juuri piileekin
• French: c’est là que le bât blesse (fr)
• German: da liegt der Hase im Pfeffer (de), da liegt der Hund begraben (de)
• Greek: τα κουμπιά της Αλέξαινας (ta koumpiá tis Aléxainas)
• Hungarian: itt (van) a bökkenő/gond, itt van a kutya elásva (hu)
• Italian: qui casca l'asino
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: der ligger hunden begravet

• Polish: tu leży pies pogrzebany (pl), tu jest pies pogrzebany
• Russian: вот где соба́ка зары́та (ru) (vot gde sobáka zarýta)
• Spanish: la madre del cordero (es)
• Swedish: här ligger en hund begraven (sv)

See also

• thereby hangs a tale
• where the shoe pinches

Further reading

• “there s here s the rub” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “therein lies the rub”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “theres the rub”, in Collins English Dictionary.