a devil of a job

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 job

the 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

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 (or the) devil of a —

something very large or bad of its kind. informal

1919 Katherine Mansfield Letter We had the devil of a great storm last night, lasting for hours, thunder, lightning, rain & I had appalling nightmares!

See also: devil, 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