How to Use a hard/tough act to follow in a Sentence

a hard/tough act to follow

noun phrase

• But the Tigers’ next coach will have a hard act to follow.
  — Tom Green | [e-mail], al, 20 Nov. 2022
• But The First Law’s nine-book arc is a tough act to follow.
  — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025
• Bat Out of Hell was a hard act to follow, at least at first.
  — Al Shipley, SPIN, 21 Jan. 2022
• The first iteration of the Switch is a tough act to follow.
  — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune Asia, 17 Jan. 2025
• While their beloved debut is a tough act to follow, Why Lawd?
  — Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
• To be sure, Galliano will be a tough act to follow at Maison Margiela.
  — Miles Socha, WWD, 29 Jan. 2025
• But one thing is certain: Francis will be a tough act to follow.
  — Omar G. Encarnación, Time, 22 Apr. 2025
• The brown butter blue crab ravioli is a tough act to follow, too.
  — Kayleigh Ruller, Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2025
• 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
• President Joe Biden has a hard act to follow in Europe: his own.
  — Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 2022
• Season 1 was a tough act to follow, and this show needed more than two seasons to do it justice.
  — Erik Kain, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
• Receivers this high school football season have a tough act to follow.
  — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022
• Her opening number will surely be a tough act to follow.
  — Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 1 July 2024
• Dune won several Oscars for its craft, and Dune: Part Two likely will too, so that’s a tough act to follow.
  — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
• Elvis Presley is a tough act to follow — or, as Carol Burnett once learned, to precede.
  — Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
• The Sanderson sisters -- famous for being campy, creepy and over-the-top -- are a tough act to follow, or perform alongside.
  — Mary Colurso | [e-mail], al, 3 Oct. 2022
• Wood is the former chief judge of the 7th Circuit, and judicial observers said Lee has a tough act to follow in replacing her on the court.
  — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022
• That said, John Malashock, who founded the organization in 1988, is a hard act to follow.
  — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2022
• That's a hard act to follow, and the two subsequent films never quite reached the same heights, despite their box office success.
  — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2021
• 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
• To say that Diana is a hard act to follow is, well, an understatement: the late princess remains one of the most beloved figures not just in Britain, but across the world.
  — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2022
• Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is the definition of a tough act to follow.
  — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, 15 Aug. 2022
• Sting is a tough act to follow, but one rap legend gave it his best shot Saturday night in Miami Beach.
  — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2025
• Everyone agrees that Queen Elizabeth II is a hard act to follow.
  — The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 Sep. 2022
• Image: Nintendo The Nintendo Switch will be a tough act to follow.
  — Jay Peters, The Verge, 16 Jan. 2025
• 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
• College football has a hard act to follow after last Saturday’s wild ride.
  — Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY, 16 Oct. 2021
• NorthPark has proven itself a tough act to follow, but that hasn’t stopped developers from trying.
  — Dallas News, 27 July 2022
• After an instant classic of a main event on WrestleMania Saturday, Night 2 will have a tough act to follow.
  — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
• The show would be a hard act to follow — Beyoncé and Michelle Obama are stans — but eight shows a week for months on end had taken a physical and emotional toll.
  — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 29 July 2020