“A hard row to hoe” is an English phrase that refers to a challenging task that requires dedication and hard work. It is often related to gardening and the need for persistence, consistency, and dedication to achieve a successful harvest. This can apply to personal situations, such as balancing work and college expenses, or business scenarios, such as regaining the trust of former customers.
Sometimes referred to as “a hard row to hoe,” “a hard row to hoe” is one of several English phrases used to identify a situation that will require a significant amount of work and dedication to successfully pull off. The image related to this particular idiom has to do with the process of gardening and is based on the visualization of someone using a garden hoe to cultivate the rows of plants in a way that will hopefully lead to a rich harvest in a later date. To harvest that crop, the gardener must possess such qualities as persistence, consistency, and a dedication to doing whatever it takes to ultimately achieve the goal.
In common usage, putting yourself to the test means taking responsibility for a task that will not be particularly easy to manage. Sometimes, the taking up of this tough task happens due to difficult situations which may not be the fault of the person suffering. For example, a young person who has no money for college expenses and doesn’t qualify for much in the way of financial aid may need to balance work with class attendance. That individual is said to have a tough queue to beat, as he will find completing a college education a little more difficult than students who don’t have to worry about how costs are covered.
Sometimes, a hard fight is sometimes related to situations where people have made bad decisions in the past and now they have to work out the consequences of those actions to put them in the past. This would mean that an individual who has offended a loved one may have to put in a lot of effort to receive forgiveness for those past actions and ultimately be able to restore a good feeling between the two people. Depending on the nature of the infraction, this process can take years and a lot of effort to complete.
Even a company may choose a course that is seen as a tough row or hard to hoe. If a business chooses to pursue a new course of action that ultimately alienates its core customer base and fails to acquire new customers to replace that base, it may need to change strategies and attempt to regain that previously loyal base. Finding ways to regain the trust of those former customers can be a tough queue to hoe, as those customers may have started doing business with competitors and be reluctant to make another change. In this scenario, the business may not only face a hard or tough line, but also a long line to hoe.
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