son of a bitch
1. Inf. a very horrible person. (Use with caution. Usually intended as a strong insult. Never used casually.) Bill called Bob a son of a bitch, and Bob punched Bill in the face. This guy's a son of a bitch. He treats everybody rotten.
2. Inf. a useless thing. This car is a son of a bitch. It won't ever start when it's cold. This bumpy old road needs paving. It's a real son of a bitch.
3. Inf. a difficult task. This job is a son of a bitch. I can't do this kind of thing. It's too hard—a real son of a bitch.
son of a bitch
Also, SOB; son of a gun. A mean, disagreeable individual, as in He was regarded as the worst son of a bitch in the industry, or He ran out on her? What an SOB, or He's a real son of a gun when it comes to owing you money. The first of these terms, calling a man the son of a female dog, dates from the early 1300s and is considered vulgar enough to have given rise to the two variants, both euphemisms. The first variant, an abbreviation, dates from World War I. The second, first recorded in 1708, gave rise to the theory that it originally applied to baby boys born at sea (in the days when women accompanied their husbands on long voyages). The explanation seems unlikely, especially since presumably some of the babies were girls. It also once meant the illegitimate son of a soldier (or "gun"). More probably, however, son of a gun evolved simply as a euphemism for the first term and appealed because of its rhyme. Both it and son of a bitch are also put as interjections expressing surprise, amazement, disgust, or disappointment, as in Son of a bitch! I lost my ticket, or I'll be a son of a gun! That must be the governor.