hard put
Struggling to do or accomplish something, especially because it seems impossible. You'll be hard put to find a better guy than Bill. Come on—if we don't leave soon, we'll be hard put to get there on time.
hard put (to do something)
and hard pressed (to do something)able to do something only with great difficulty. I'm hard put to come up with enough money to pay the rent. I get hard put like that about once a month.
hard put
Undergoing great difficulty: Under the circumstances, he was hard put to explain himself.