a hard/tough act to follow

noun phrase

: someone or something that has been so successful that it is very difficult for the person or thing coming next to be as good

Yesterday's thrilling victory will be a tough act to follow.

Examples of a hard/tough act to follow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Blackwell — named after David Blackwell, the first Black scholar inducted into the National Academy of Science — has a tough act to follow. —Ian King, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024

Cleveland officials wasted no time in hiring the newest manager in Guardians history: the 39-year-old Vogt, who has a tough act to follow, but is looking forward to it. —Jim Ingraham, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024

And that, paired with the spectacle of it all, will be a tough act to follow for New Orleans next winter. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024

That is a hard act to follow, but the book provides an opportunity to spend time with the work in a more contemplative format. —Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024

Although Tina Fey returned to write the screenplay (and reprised her role as North Shore math teacher Ms. Norbury), the movie musical has a tough act to follow (creatively speaking; the film seems well positioned financially based on initial projections). —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 Jan. 2024

The Cincinnati native’s lone season at left tackle resulted in consensus All-America honors and a tough act to follow for the programs’ returning offensive linemen. —Nathan Baird, cleveland, 10 Jan. 2023

Receivers this high school football season have a tough act to follow. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022

Yet another reminder that Cassidy, much like the hallowed Fours on Canal Street, will be a tough act to follow. —Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2022