🗓️ Idiom: Uphill Battle (n)
💬 Meaning
- A situation that is very difficult and requires a lot of effort to succeed and things are against you.
- It refers to challenges where progress is slow and success is hard to achieve.
🧠 Example Sentences
- Convincing the board to invest in new systems was an uphill battle.
- The team faced an uphill battle trying to change long-standing company habits.
- Implementing the new strategy without enough support became an uphill battle.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from the idea of climbing uphill, which takes more effort than going downhill. In business, it means facing strong resistance or working against many difficulties.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Getting everyone to accept the new software has been __________ for the IT department.
Answer
an uphill battle
2. Choose the correct meaning of “uphill battle”:
A) A quick solution
B) An easy win
C) A difficult struggle
D) A random challenge
Answer
C) A difficult struggle
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“Trying to change the old system was extremely difficult.” → Change the sentence using: uphill battle
Answer
Changing the old system was an uphill battle.