a/the devil of a job, nuisance, fellow, etc.

a devil of a job

A difficult or frustrating time; much difficulty. I'm having a devil of a job getting this window open—I think it has been painted shut. We had a devil of a job convincing Grandpa to go to the doctor for that bad cough.See also: devil, job, of

devil of a job

 and devil's own jobthe most difficult task. We had a devil of a job fixing the car. It was the devil's own job finding a hotel with vacancies.See also: devil, job, of

devil of a

Also, one devil or the devil of a ; hell of a. Infernally annoying or difficult, as in This is a devil of an assembly job, or She had one devil of a time getting through the traffic, or I had a hell of a morning sitting in that doctor's office. The first expression dates from the mid-1700s. The variant is a couple of decades newer and its precise meaning depends on the context. For example, We had a hell of a time getting here invariably means we had a very difficult or annoying time, but He is one hell of a driver could mean that he is either very good or very bad (see hell of a, def. 2). See also: devil, of

a devil of a job

or

the devil's own job

If you have a devil of a job or the devil's own job to do something, it is very difficult to do. We had a devil of a job finding you in that place. Michael was having the devil's own job to make himself heard next to the roadworks.See also: devil, job, of

a/the ˈdevil of a job, nuisance, fellow, etc.

(old-fashioned) a difficult or an unpleasant example of something: We’re going to have a devil of a job getting the roots of that tree out of the ground.See also: devil, of