uphill battles
Difficult ongoing efforts
Uphill battles are struggles against difficult odds, where progress requires extra effort—like fighting while climbing a slope.
The phrase emphasizes sustained difficulty rather than a single obstacle: Reformers faced an uphill battle against entrenched interests.
Usually plural, suggesting ongoing challenges rather than one decisive conflict.
- ordealDifficult, painful experience
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- steep climbSharply angled upward path
- endeavorPurposeful sustained attempt
- challengeTest of ability
hardship · effort · heavy lifting · adversity · task · obstacle · pushback · trials · long haul · persistence · swimming upstream · gauntlet · resilience · fighting chance · grit · against all odds · bureaucracy · long odds
uphill battleswalkovers
Uncontested victories
cakewalks · smooth sailing · breezes · cinches · child's play
uphill battlessure things
Guaranteed outcomes
foregone conclusions · safe bets · shoo-ins · slam dunks · certainties
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