Learn English – Idiom for something that appears to be easy but is in fact hard

expression-requestsexpressionsidiomsphrase-requestsphrases

I considered deceptively complex or deceptively simple (depending on how you interpret this previous post) as a way of expressing this. But, I would like to avoid the potential for misunderstanding and just use an idiom or expression that is unmistakable.

For example, John gravitated towards enrolling in the college course Children's Literature assuming it to be an easy A, but he was deceived. The course is in fact ______________________. (INSERT IDIOM OR EXPRESSION IN BLANK)

Best Answer

"surprisingly complex" could work well.

The word "complex" seems to reflect well on a course with rich content.

"surprisingly" signals the unexpected nature of the complexity.

If it were only a single simple question that was more complex you could simply say "tricky" however I do not believe that would apply well with the body of content in a course.