After three consecutive losses and mounting injuries, the season became tough going for the team.

The layoffs, budget cuts, and delayed promotions are all tough pills to swallow for the team.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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