hard put to (do something)

hard put to (do something)

Struggling to do or accomplish something, especially because it seems impossible. You'll be hard put to find a better guy than Bill. Come on—if we don't leave soon, we'll be hard put to get there on time.See also: hard, put

hard ˈput (to it) to do something

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hard ˈpressed/ˈpushed to do something

able to do something only with great difficulty: I’d be hard put to name all the countries in the world.See also: hard, put, something