You use the going to talk about how easy or difficult it is to do something. You can also say that something is, for example, hard going or tough going. He has her support to fall back on when the going gets tough.
Yahoo! Sports: "When the going gets tough, we let go of the rope... …
Barry Jackson: Norman Powell tonight: "When the going gets tough, we let go of the rope... When we get hit, we continue to fold." There are obvious exceptions, like the play-in win in Atlanta, but ...
"When the going gets tough, we let go of the rope... …
MSN: When the going gets tough, we let go of the rope
HoopsHype: "When the going gets tough, we let go of the rope... …
It's been slow going so far [=progress has been slow so far], but the project should speed up soon. The report is pretty hard/heavy going. [=it is quite difficult to understand] This is a big job, and it's going to be rough/tough going [=hard work; a difficult situation] for a while.
The meaning of GOING is an act or instance of going. How to use going in a sentence.
GOING definition: the act of leaving or departing; departure. See examples of going used in a sentence.
The suffix -going is added after nouns referring to places or events where people gather, to form adjectives that mean "attending or going regularly to (the place mentioned)'': church + -going → churchgoing (= regularly attending church).
(in combination) Attending or visiting (a stated event, place, etc.) habitually or regularly. theatre-going, church-going, movie-going