Language: en
Meaning: (originallyUS,idiomatic)Abigjob; adifficultchallenge.Synonym:big askAntonyms:seeThesaurus:easy thing1871, W. W. Hall, “Are Vegetable Foods Difficult to Digest?”, inHealth by Good Living, New York, N.Y.: Published byHurd and Houghton[…],→OCLC, footnote,page92:[W]e must come, consequently, to the impressive conclusion that to live on potatoes alone[…], a man must eat at least 30 lbs. of potato a day—which would be rather atall order, even for an Irishman.1911October,E[dward] Phillips Oppenheim, “The Night Train from Vienna”, inHavoc, Boston, Mass.:Little, Brown, and Company,→OCLC,page26:Guess they'd find it a prettytall ordertrying to interfere with an American citizen.1947November, ““Dear ChairmanWeichel”: An Open Letter to Chairman Weichel of the House Committee on the Merchant Marine Suggesting a Program for the Next Session of Congress”, in Murray Morse, editor,The Log, volume42, number12, Los Angeles, Calif.:Miller Freeman Publications,page33, column 2:We suggest that your committee assume the responsibility for establishing a definite long range construction program for the American Merchant Marine. This is atall orderbut one of extreme urgency. An entire indusry is now suspended in the balance between war and peace, and upon you and your committee depends which way the scales will tip.1951October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, inRailway Magazine, page705:The present writer was once asked to name what he considered to be "the most typically English railway approach to a town": a somewhattall order, especially as such matters will always be, in the last resort, of individual opinion. But the unhesitating answer to this question (which has not been altered after many years of extended travel throughout England) was "Sudbury, in Suffolk."2002, Jack H. Grossman, J. Robert Parkinson, “Introduction”, inBecoming a Successful Manager: How to Make a Smooth Transition from Managing Yourself to Managing Others,Contemporary Books,→DOI,→ISBN,page 2:These aretall orders, but they are, in part, the responsibilities you assumed when you donned the mantle of manager. When you accepted this position, your implied promise, assuming you want to be the best leader you can be, was to be an effective teacher, a sensitive counselor, and a master gardener.2009February 25,Tyler Hamilton, “50,000 green jobs ‘a tall order’”, inToronto Star[1], Toronto, Ont., archived fromthe originalon11 August 2016:Frank Macedo, an electrical engineering consultant who used to oversee transmission planning at the former Ontario Hydro, said creating that many jobs in three years is "atall order." As it is, utilities such as Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation are already struggling to replace thousands of boomer-age employees who will be retiring over the next few years.2012, David Wesley Ofumbi, “The Challenge of Local Communities in East Africa”, inIdentity and Transformation: The Significance of African Christianity in Community Transformation, U.S.A.:Xulon Press,→ISBN,page63:It is estimated that by 2013, Uganda alone will have over 10 million unemployed youths[…]. Overall, at least 500,000 new jobs are needed every year to meet the current demand.[…]These figures aretall ordersthat might eventually spell doom for the region unless the stakeholders provide more tangible solutions immediately.2015April, Kate Meader,Flirting with Fire, 1st paperback edition, New York, N.Y.:Pocket Books,→ISBN,page366:In the past six weeks, she had turned Luke Almeida into Chicago's Sexiest Fireman, his sister into America's Favorite Firefighter, and had recovered from a cheating ex who was about to have octuplet walruses with a nurse. Meet the queen oftall orders.2023May 6,James Poniewozik, “Charles III Was Crowned King. But Can He Ever Be the Star?”, inThe New York Times[2]:This was atall order. Charles has never been the star of his own life. He’s been the king for months now; he’s been an international figure for decades. But much of his story has been his mother’s, his wives’, his children’s.
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