“Tall task” is a variation, I believe, from the idiom “tall order”, an order (command or request) that is too difficult for one to accomplish. “Tall order” sounds awkward (as idioms often do) and upon research, I find its origin to be American. That may explain it. Americans have always been able to use English in whatever way that suit them and in the process, enrich the language.
Or perhaps ruin it, if you ask language purists. George Bernard Shaw, for instance, once said the British and the Americans are the same people divided by a common language, or something to that effect.
Anyways, Phrase.org has this to say:
Tall, since the middle of the 19th century, has been used for things large in amount or size but not necessarily in terms of height, and figuratively as well as literally. For “tall order,” the Oxford English Dictionary tells us that it is “slang (orig. U.S.)... something expected to be hard to achieve or fulfil.” The earliest example they cite is by Franklin Adams, from 1893.
The actual quote is (thanks to StackExchange.com):
It’s a tall order, but it’s worth trying, isn’t it?
As for “tall task”, I’m sure people use it because both words begin with a “T”, thus having a nice ring to it.
Alright, without further ado, media examples of “tall task”:
1. When we hear the word “divorce,” most of us conjure up the image two people engaged in a battle over child custody, child or spousal support, and the division of assets. Traditionally, each side has/had its respective attorney whose job it is (tenses don’t match unless has/had is there, do they?) to duke it out with the other side in an effort to win the best settlement possible. Then, once the divorce is over and done with, the ex-spouses are so angry with each other that they remain enemies.
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