The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby, a regular tough
Could you please tell me the precise meaning of "a regular tough underneath it all" in the following excerpt from chapter four of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby?
“Did I have to know all this before he could ask such a little thing?”
“He’s afraid. He’s waited so long. He thought you might be offended. You see, he’s a regular tough underneath it all.”
Thank you.