thorns and thistles

Troubles, cares, hardships, and concerns

Question: "How's it going, buddy?" Answer: "Thorns and thistles, man, thorns and thistles."
Can also be used as an exclamation meaning "Life sucks" or "Everything has gone to crap." As in "Did you hear what happened? Thorns and thistles! how am I going to fix this?!"