Meaning of "tough go"

[namo]

I am trying to find out the meaning of "tough go" as in "This job is
going to be a tough go for us."

While I can more or less guess it parhaps means a difficult activity,
I would like to see a more dictionary type of definition. I tried to
look it up on m-w.com but could not find it as a phrase. The various
entries for go as a noun are not very helpful.

Actually, I always wonder if there are good online dictionaries where
I can look up for phrases. If you have any suggestions, please point
me to them.

Thanks to you all.

[Donna Richoux]

namo <wyn...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am trying to find out the meaning of "tough go" as in "This job is
> going to be a tough go for us."
>
> While I can more or less guess it parhaps means a difficult activity,

Yes.

> I would like to see a more dictionary type of definition. I tried to
> look it up on m-w.com but could not find it as a phrase. The various
> entries for go as a noun are not very helpful.

I know it's hard to pick out the right meaning from a long list (I have
the same trouble with Dutch-English dictionaries) but it's there. Under
go:

6 a : a turn in an activity (as a game) <it's your
go> b : ATTEMPT, TRY <have a go at painting>
7 : a spell of activity <finished the job at one go>

And under "tough":

6 : difficult to accomplish, resolve, endure, or
deal with <a tough question> <tough luck>
7 : stubbornly fought <a tough contest>

I Googled the phrase to get a sense of frequency and distribution. Many
of the hits were about sports. In particular, I wonder if American
football, with its short, concentrated bursts of "making downs" could be
the source of "a tough go."

> Actually, I always wonder if there are good online dictionaries where
> I can look up for phrases. If you have any suggestions, please point
> me to them.

Merriam-Webster is actually pretty good about two-word phrases. You can
also try Onelook.com and Cambridge Dictionaries (idioms)
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

However, I don't think any dictionary is going to list entries that are
simply the sum of two or more parts, ones that could be figured out by
knowing the separate words (assuming that's possible). There would just
be too many phrases to handle.

--
Best -- Donna Richoux