If we are told we have Our Work Cut Out For Us we know there is a lot to be done and a difficult task lies ahead. The phrase stems from the craft of tailoring but at first glance it would seem the work is being made easier (by having someone cut out patterns before the stitching begins). But, in fact, such a practice makes life more difficult for the tailor, as cutting the work out in advance is much quicker than actually tailoring a suit and therefore piles of material would mount up making it hard for the tailor to keep up. Therefore it is quite easy to imagine a tailor explaining he is busy as he has his "work cut out for him" and would be hard at it for the foreseeable future. The first recorded appearance of the phrase meaning "more than one can handle" turned up in A Christmas Carol, a Charles Dickens novel first published in 1843.

- Albert Jack, Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day.