Word.ws English Dictionary

therein lies the rub

therein lies the rub phrase: that is where the problem is found or located.

Phrase

therein lies the rub

  1. (idiomatic) That is where the problem is found or located.
    • I tried to back up my database to a USB flash drive, but it isn't big enough. Therein lies the rub.

Forms of therein lies the rub

alternative formthere lies the rub
alternative formthere is the rub
alternative formthere's the rub

Origin of therein lies the rub

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

Questions about therein lies the rub

What does therein lies the rub mean?
Therein lies the rub means that is where the problem is found or located.
What part of speech is therein lies the rub?
Therein lies the rub is a phrase.

Words near therein lies the rub in the dictionary

  1. therefor
  2. therefore
  3. therefrom
  4. therehence
  5. therein
  6. therein lies the rub
  7. thereinabove
  8. thereinafter
  9. thereinbefore
  10. thereinbelow
  11. thereinside

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: therein lies the rub (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “therein lies the rub.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/therein_lies_the_rub. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.