Definition
To do (something) in a way that makes it more difficult than it needs to be.
To struggle to accomplish something.
In Context
- "The motion is from the shoulder rather than from the elbow, moving the whole arm, and there is no need to make hard work of it."
- "I made hard work of a very easy task ."
- "Don't make hard work of it . An instrument in good condition is easy to blow when properly played."
- "Unfortunately, Versteegh made hard work of his task once again by using the rather difficult manuscript from Cairo, Dār al-kutub 242 (Versteegh describes this manuscript on p. 156 as "very hard to read, and we have managed to analyze only parts of it.")."
- "For arithmetic to-day, as the pupils made hard work of the examples yesterday, I changed only the numbers."
- "While we had made hard work of defeating Sheffield United in our FA Cup semifinal, Spurs were breezing past Burnley 3–0 in the other tie."
- "As Wright opened the door he made hard work of it, rattling the key in the lock."
- "England made hard work of the win against a stubborn and well-organised Iceland but were the better and more positive side."