sleddingn.
North American.
a. The action of using a sled; conditions favourable for this.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > riding in a sleigh or sledge
sledding1713
carrioling1769
sleighing1775
sleigh-riding1807
sledging1853
1713 Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. X. 102 Cold. Brave sledding.
1755 T. Smith Jrnl. (1849) 272 Several falls of snow, and some sledding.
1755 T. Smith Jrnl. (1849) 284 Fine sledding; true winter since the 17th.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Sometimes in New England, there is little or no good sledding during the winter.
1873 Rep. Supreme Court Wisconsin 31 422 Scott is to..continue them as long as good sledding continues.
b. figurative. With qualifying adj: work or progress in any sphere of action.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > [noun]
progressionc1385
proceeding?c1425
progressc1443
proceedc1450
procession1585
gate1604
procedure1640
foreholda1642
process1642
promotion1649
sailing1827
sledding1839
on-go1870
1839 H. Greeley in Corr. Griswold (1898) 26 Payments are slack still, and we have rather hard sledding.
1898 N.Y. Evening Post 21 Oct. 1 Professional labor agitators do not always have smooth sledding in the field of politics.
1908 R. E. Beach Barrier 127 Now them kind of places is all right for married men but they're tough sleddin' for single ones.
1939 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Ingleside xxvii. 185 Ye can keep a house without a woman, but it's hard sledding.
1954 ‘T. P. Kelley’ Black Donnellys 57 Damnation—had he somehow, unknowingly, revealed himself? If so, he could sure expect some rough sledding ahead.
1968 M. Woodhouse Rock Baby iii. 20 It was hard sledding, but after a while I got him to say something definite.
1979 Arizona Daily Sun 19 Apr. 4/2 This part of the administration's plan likewise faces tough sledding on Capitol Hill.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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