Moving toward or situated at a higher elevation; requiring effort to overcome obstacles or difficulties. Metaphorically describes challenging tasks that require sustained effort.
Compound of 'up' and 'hill,' from Old English components. The metaphorical sense of 'difficult' emerged naturally from the physical experience of climbing hills, requiring extra effort against gravity.
The phrase 'uphill battle' perfectly captures how humans understand difficulty through physical metaphors—fighting gravity feels harder than fighting with it, so we naturally map this onto any challenging endeavor. Interestingly, studies show people literally see hills as steeper when they're tired or carrying heavy backpacks, suggesting our perception of difficulty is always subjective.
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