1. A female dog that is pregnant with another female dog. The dog being the bitch and her unborn offspring being the half.
2. Someone who is giving you a hard time and won't let up.
When someone, usually female, is so much of a shit person that the term "bitch" no longer is sufficient to describe them. It can also be applied to difficult a task or situation.
Use 1, of a person: My whore of an ex cheated on me 7 times! What a bitch and a half!
Use 2, Replacing the alternator on a GM product is a bitch and a half, man!
A phrase used to show extreme distress during the course of doing something that requires mental or physical work. Can also be used as an Adjective to describe an act of physical or mental labor.