heavy going

idiom

: difficult to do or finish

The cold made the race heavy going for many runners.

The book is really heavy going at the beginning.

Examples of heavy going in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

This opening half is surprisingly light — a hangout movie, almost — but the second half becomes a lot more heavy going while, oddly, never really expanding the focus (for arthouse audiences, 3hrs 15 minutes is nothing, making the intermission more of an adornment than a necessity). —

Damon Wise, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2024 Panniers loaded with supplies, the XF900 is a bit tail heavy going home, some rear preload adjustability (either with air or spring rate) would be a welcome addition to the rear shock. —

Bill Roberson, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2022 Having that perspective made the process heavy going. —

Hilda Bastian, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2022 Despite moments of theatrical audacity, much of the storytelling was heavy going. —

David Benedict, Variety, 8 Dec. 2021 Such themes could be heavy going for even the most gifted artists and their listeners. —

George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 July 2021 Mr Guterres started as secretary-general by emphasising crisis prevention, but this has proved heavy going, given the divisions among the big powers and the growing complexity of conflicts. —

The Economist, 18 June 2020