row

A particularly difficult or problematic task, situation, or set of circumstances to contend with or confront. Immigration reform was one of the new president's primary campaign promises, but it will likely prove a long row to hoe, given the deep divisions in congress. I know finishing this thesis will be a long row to hoe, but I'm actually looking forward to the challenge.

To quickly or abruptly reverse or retreat from one's earlier position, decision, or opinion. Primarily heard in UK. The actor had to row back when he let slip a racist remark during the press conference. The government is rowing back on the decision to increase water charges after nationwide protests erupted on Friday.

Fig. to get one's affairs in order or organized. Jane is organized. She really gets all her ducks in a row right away. You can't hope to go into a company and sell something until you get your ducks in a row.

Rur. to mind one's own business. Tom: You're cutting up those carrots awful small. Jane: Hoe your own row! He didn't get involved in other people's fights. He just hoed his own row.

Fig. to become a nuisance; to misbehave and disturb (someone). (Row rhymes with cow. Note the variations in the examples.) The customer kicked up such a fuss about the food that the manager came to apologize. I kicked up such a row that they told me to leave. Oh, what pain! My arthritis is kicking up a storm.

to carry someone or something in a rowboat from the shore out to something. Will you row me out to the island? I rowed out all the visitors to the little island.

Fig. a difficult task to carry out; a heavy set of burdens. It's a tough row to hoe, but hoe it you will. This is not an easy task. This is a hard row to hoe.

to organize things well I thought Mike was extremely smart and always had his ducks in a row.

in a series without interruption They've won six games in a row.

a difficult situation to deal with The author said that he knew it would be a tough row to hoe when he began research for this book.

to organize things well The government talks about tax changes but they won't fix a date or an amount - they just can't get their ducks in a row.

to complain loudly in order to show that you are very annoyed about something Our food was cold so my father kicked up a fuss and refused to pay the service charge.

a difficult situation to deal with Teachers have a tough row to hoe in today's schools.

a poor area in a city where people who have no jobs and homes live in cheap rooms or sleep outdoors She works as a social worker with alcoholics on skid row. (mainly American informal)

Also, have one's ducks in a row. Complete one's preparations, become efficient and well organized, as in I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before I go to Europe. This synonym for get one's act together probably alludes to lining up target ducks in a shooting gallery. [Slang; 1970s]

Also, kick up a row or storm . Create a disturbance; start a fight. For example, The soup was cold, and Aunt Mary began to kick up a fuss, calling for the manager, or There's no need to kick up a row; the boys will leave quietly, or If they fire him, Carl is ready to kick up a storm. These expressions all employ kick up in the sense of "raise dust or dirt," a usage dating from the mid-1700s.

A squalid district inhabited by derelicts and vagrants; also, a life of impoverished dissipation. For example, That part of town is our skid row, or His drinking was getting so bad we thought he was headed for skid row. This expression originated in the lumber industry, where it signified a road or track made of logs laid crosswise over which logs were slid. Around 1900 the name Skid Road was used for the part of a town frequented by loggers, which had many bars and brothels, and by the 1930s the variant skid row, with its current meaning, came into use.

Also, hard row to hoe. A difficult course, hard work to accomplish, as in He knew he'd have a tough row to hoe by running against this popular incumbent. [First half of 1800s]

A difficult situation to endure.