Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
phrase
This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Southern, US, idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
An allusion to the urgency and difficulty of extracting an ox from a ditch in which it has become mired.
