A tall order

How it is used

Informal reaction to demanding expectations. Specify the difficulty so the phrase does not substitute for explaining resources or time needed.

Example sentences

1. Translating the entire report by tomorrow is a tall order for one person.

   The volume and deadline make the request demanding.

2. Finding a central venue for two hundred people within this budget is a tall order.

   Several constraints must be satisfied together, increasing the difficulty.

Common collocations

• be a tall order
• seem a tall order

Related terms

• deadlineThe latest date or time by which a piece of work must be finished, sent or delivered.
• deliverableA specific result, document or product that a team has agreed to produce and hand over by a certain date.

More terms: Office Idioms and Phrases

• touch base
• heads-up
• on the same page
• keep me posted
• ballpark figure
• bandwidth
• circle back
• low-hanging fruit
• get the ball rolling
• back to the drawing board
• drop the ball
• on my radar