hard going
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Difficult to understand and enjoy.
Especially reading and study material
- THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF WORLD RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES. Edited by P. Ransome-Wallis. Hutchinson. 50s. [...] Its only noticeable defect is inconsistency in presentation and loose editing, which make its use harder going for the amateur than need be.1960 January, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 26:
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Of a task Difficult and requiring a lot of effort.