That is the trouble/ there is a hitch somewhere
But the problem is that..., the trouble is that... (In Aramaic דָּא means 'this,' עָקָא means 'trouble').
("...It is a conspiracy of evildoers, and a conspiracy of evildoers is not from the count. Rabbi Yochanan said: 'This is the trouble'" - Sanhedrin 26a, and likewise: "Most of the thieves in Jerusalem are their handiwork. And if the authorities want, they can easily catch them, but this is the trouble, that they do not always want" - Y. Burla / Supplements, 174, and likewise: "This is the trouble, my strength, this is the trouble. You only did it before, for the sake of glory" - H. Hazaz / Early Generations, 20, and likewise: "But this is the trouble, that when the time comes to weigh each of their suspicions... cruel reality comes and strikes him in the face" - H. Beer / To the Place Where the Spirit Goes, 194).
Translation
Expression (Hebrew)
דָּא עָקָא ש...
Definition (Hebrew)
אֲבָל הַבְּעָיָה הִנָּהּ ש..., הַצָּרָה הִיא שֶׁ...,(בַּאֲרָמִית דָּא מַשְׁמָע זֹאת,עָקָא מַשְׁמָע צָרָה).
(" ...קֶשֶׁר רְשָׁעִים הוּא, וְקֶשֶׁר רְשָׁעִים אֵינוֹ מִן הַמִּנְיָן .אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן:דָּא עָקָא"- סַנְהֶדְרִין כו ע"א, וְכֵן:"רֹב הַגְּנֵבוֹת שֶׁבִּירוּשָׁלַיִם מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָם הֵן. וְאִם הַשִּׁלְטוֹנוֹת רוֹצִים, בְּנָקֵל יְכוֹלִים לְתִפְסָם, אֶלָּא, דָּא עָקָא, שֶׁלֹּא תָּמִיד הֵם רוֹצִים"- י.בּוּרְלָא/ כִּסּוּפִים, 174, וְכֵן:"דָּא עָקָא,קוֹחָאנִי, דָּא עָקָא. אַתָּה לֹא עָשִׂיתָ אֶלָּא לְפָנִים,לְשֵׁם יֻהֲרָה"- ח.הָזָז/ דּוֹרוֹת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, 20, וְכֵן:"אַךְ דָּא עָקָא,שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּא לִשְׁקֹל כָּל אֶחָד מִן הֲתַרְחִישֵׁם...בָּאָה הַמְּצִיאוּת הָאַכְזָרִית וְטָפְחָה עַל פָּנָיו"- ח.בְּאֵר/ אֶל מָקוֹם שֶׁהָרוּחַ הוֹלֵךְ, 194).