Choosing between promoting Sarah and keeping the more experienced Mark was a tough call for the manager.

The international trade disputes were tough nuts to crack, requiring months of negotiations and expert mediation.

Many writers mistakenly use the phrase tough road to hoe instead of the correct idiom tough row to hoe, even though it simply means a difficult task.

After the merger, integrating the two companies' systems was a tough row to hoe.

Fixing the legacy billing system proved to be a tough nut to crack for the development team.

The news that the project was canceled was a tough pill to swallow for the whole team.

After years of hard use, that old jacket is still tough as old boots.

The retiring teachers left behind some truly tough acts to follow, and the new staff felt both inspired and intimidated.

After her record-breaking season, she was a tough act to follow.

The new manager realized the team had many tough rows to hoe to meet the deadline.