From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisha bad/difficult/sticky/rough patcha bad/difficult/sticky/rough patchinformalDIFFICULTPERIOD OF TIME a period of time when you are having a lot of difficulty Gemma’s going through a bad patch right now. → patch
Examples from the Corpus
a bad/difficult/sticky/rough patch• Ruefully, she recalled her pleasure at the way the book, after a difficult patch, had begun to develop.• Having hit a bad patch, financially, I decided I must try for some paid work with my knitting machine.• Sometimes I am a real power pack of efficiency; then I hit a bad patch.• Talk about hitting a bad patch.• Every team goes through a bad patch.• The Royal Family is certainly going through a rough patch.• Even when they knew he was going through a bad patch they would continue to deliver dangerous back-passes to him.• Evode has gone through a sticky patch. 