heavy going

Also, heavy weather.

1

Difficult, as in Tom found calculus heavy going, or It's going to be heavy weather for us from here on. The first expression originally referred to a road or path that was hard to negotiate; the variant alludes to bad weather at sea. [Mid-1800s]

2

make heavy weather of. Make hard work or a fuss over something, especially unnecessarily. For example, They made heavy weather of the differences between their proposals, which actually seemed much alike. This use of weather likens a commotion to a storm. [Mid-1900s]

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Words nearby heavy going

heavy chain disease, heavy cream, heavy cruiser, heavy earth, heavy eye, heavy going, heavy hand, with a, heavy heart, with a, heavy hitter, heavy hydrogen, heavy ion
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Example sentences from the Web for heavy going

  • The heavy-going eland was soon overtaken, and as it trotted to one side, was passed.

    The Bush Boys|Captain Mayne Reid