up to one's ass in alligators
swamp
scrabbly
hard-set
problem
press forward
beleaguered
up a gum tree
challengeable
job
rocky
bugbear
hitch
superchallenge
hurdlesome
catch a cold
struggle
trouble
skiddly
defiance
hard time
hard as nails
gotcha
stand together
boil the ocean
tough sledding
daunting
killer
run for the roses
stickhandle
hydra
tempest-tossed
squeaky wheel
run for one's money
skittish
hack away
put a hurt on
recalcitrant
bate
problem child
hairy
intractable
pressure point
difficultate
hardship
ride with the punches
stay
agonistic
above the fray
batten down
convenient
knuckle up
praemunire
peacefaking
embattled
conflictarian
cumbersome
exigency
resource
can of worms
doo-doo
bring off
join battle
confrontationism
up the pole
entangle
scabrous
rigour
in a pinch
at a pinch
an old dog for a hard road
challengeful
ox is in the ditch
rough sledding
testing
where the shoe pinches
when push comes to shove
complicatedness
difficult
obstacle-ridden
bog
torfer
uphill
complicated
up the ante
baffling
spiny
thwarted
cross
perplexed
make one's bed and lie in it
problematic
hard times
stumblingblock
throw down the gauntlet
finagle