hard nut to crack vs puzzler

hard nut to crack

noun
  • A problem that is challenging to solve. 

  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hard, nut, crack. 

  • A situation, person, group, etc. which is difficult to overcome or deal with. 

  • A place, opportunity, etc. to which it is difficult to gain entry. 

  • An amount that is difficult to finance. 

puzzler

noun
  • A puzzling situation or problem; an enigma. 

  • A person who solves puzzles as a hobby. 

  • A video game in which the player is presented with (usually abstract) puzzles to solve. 

How often have the words hard nut to crack and puzzler occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )