hickory nut

hickory nut (plural hickory nuts)

1. One of the large edible nuts of the hickory tree.
   • 2018, Tayari Jones, An American Marriage, Oneworld Publications, page 270:

     To break the shell of a hickory nut, you needed a hammer and an act of Congress, and even then you needed a screwdriver to get at the meat, which was about as tasty as a clod of limestone.