cross to bear

A difficult responsibility or burden that someone must handle on their own. When Nancy's husband passed away, she was left with quite a cross to bear having to raise four children on her own.

cross to bear

A burden or trial one must put up with, as in Alzheimer's is a cross to bear for the whole family, or in a lighter vein, Mowing that huge lawn once a week is Brad's cross to bear: This phrase alludes to the cross carried by Jesus to his crucifixion. Today it may be used either seriously or lightly. [Second half of 1500s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Ladislaus	LAD-i-slaws (English)	History
Pharamond	-	Literature, French (Rare)
Celestina	the-le-STEE-nah (Spanish), se-le-STEE-nah (Latin American Spanish), che-le-STEE-nah (Italian)	Spanish, Italian
Jovana	-	Serbian, Macedonian
Calfuray	kal-foo-RAW-ee	Native American, Mapuche
Mumin	-	Arabic