Meaning: a difficult or extreme challenge
Rewrite 1: a challenge of Everest proportions
Rewrite 2: a battle requiring more fighting spirit than an Iraqi warlord could muster
Rewrite 3: a fray that would make X-gamers cower
Rewrite 4: an over-the-battlements, under-the-footingsn4, around-the-gates challenge

Comment: These rewrites may bring to mind excessive force rather than difficulty.

More reading about clichés
What I found when I googled “clichés”:
• Samuel Goldwyn Quotes: “Samuel Goldwyn’s Lets have some new clichés.”

Check out the new alphabetical list of all my cliché rewrites available in the archive list at the right. To search the page using Internet Explorer, just go to “Edit” in the top menu bar, select “Find”, then enter the cliché or a word from it.