have a cross to bear

have a (heavy) cross to bear

To have a difficult responsibility or burden that must be handled on one's own. When Nancy's husband passed away, she had a heavy cross to bear—raising four children on her own. Because I wanted to go to grad school, I have a heavy cross to bear now with even more student loans. If Mom's really sick and needs someone to take care of her, then we have a cross to bear as her kids.

See also: bear, cross, have, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

have a (heavy) ˈcross to bear

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bear/carry your ˈcross

suffer the trouble(s) that life brings to you: We all have our crosses to bear.This refers to the punishments used in the time of Jesus and described in the Bible.

See also: bear, cross, have, to

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017