A tall order is a difficult task, a request that's hard to fulfil: Finding a room for twelve people tonight is a tall order. Order here means a demand, not a purchase, and tall has an old sense of too much, as in a tall tale. People often say it to hint politely that the expectations are too high.
When would you say a tall order?
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be a tall order; a tall order for + person
- Finding a room for twelve people tonight is a tall order.
- Finishing the mural in one afternoon would be a tall order for one artist.
- The coach admitted that winning every match was a tall order.
What changed
First versionReplacing the whole roof in two days is tall order.
RevisionReplacing the whole roof in two days is a tall order.
Words like hard or tough stand alone after is, so a feels unnecessary. But tall order is a noun phrase, and order is countable here: one task, one demand. So it's is a tall order. Add the article, and the idiom is complete.
A big order is just a large purchase: a big order of 500 T-shirts. A tall order is a hard task. Unlike an impossible task, it still leaves a chance: difficult, but doable.
Your turn
Use the idiom meaning a difficult demand: Delivering all fifty parcels before noon is a ___ order.
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tall — The idiom uses only tall: a tall order. A high order isn't said in English.
Describe a request from a boss, friend or client that's hard to meet on time. Use a tall order.
Finding a quiet table for our whole group on a Friday night is a tall order.
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