sledding
noun
Sledding — the figurative going, smooth or rough, toward a difficult goal
Definition
Advancing toward a goal; "persuading him was easy going"; "the proposal faces tough sledding"
In depth
Sledding, used figuratively, names the act of advancing toward a goal, with the quality of that advance, easy or difficult, typically specified by an accompanying adjective, as in 'tough sledding' or 'easy sledding.' The word borrows the literal physical experience of sledding over varied terrain to describe the metaphorical ease or difficulty of any undertaking.
Origin
The word descends from Middle Low German sledde, a sled, related to a wide Germanic word family concerned with sliding or gliding motion. Its figurative use developed naturally from the literal experience of sledding over variable snow conditions, smooth and fast in good conditions, slow and effortful in poor ones, mapped neatly onto the varying difficulty of any metaphorical undertaking.
Usage examples
"Persuading him was easy sledding compared to what came next."
"The proposal faced tough sledding in committee, where skepticism ran deep on both sides."
"After the initial breakthrough, the rest of the research proved surprisingly smooth sledding."
How to use it
Sledding in this figurative sense almost always appears with a qualifying adjective describing the terrain's difficulty, and the phrase is largely American idiomatic usage, common in journalism and casual business writing describing the relative ease of negotiations, legislation, or projects.
Related concepts
Looking for a word but don't know its name?
Try the Word Finder →