• I'm willing to give it a whirl
• cross, ordeal, racket, scourge, stress, trial, tribulation
• have a crack at sg, have a fling at sg, have a smack at sg, have a thwack at sg, have a whack at sg, to take a fling at sg, to try one's hand at sg
• I tried to get in a word, I tried to put in a word
• he tried to get his hand loose