been to the wars

Idioms  

1. Show signs of rough treatment or injury, as in That car of yours looks as though it's been to the wars. This term dates from the late 1300s, when, however, it tended to be used literally. The figurative usage is more recent.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

been to the wars

But rich boys who’ve been to the wars, you know?

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

It appears that he was opposed by a much younger man who had "never been to the wars," and it was his practice to tell the people of the hardships he had endured.

From The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; containing a collection of over one thousand of the most laughable sayings and jokes of celebrated wits and humorists. by Various

Besides, sergeant Jasper, I've been to the wars since I've seen ye—got experience, laurels and lilies, and all them there things.

From She Would Be a Soldier The Plains of Chippewa by Montrose Jonas Moses

We had been to the wars together ere I had cut my wisdom teeth, and thus had he come to love me.

From Bardelys the Magnificent; being an account of the strange wooing pursued by the Sieur Marcel de Saint-Pol, marquis of Bardelys... by Rafael Sabatini

Poor mammy will mourn over me and coddle me up as if I'd been to the wars.

From Spinning-Wheel Stories by Louisa May Alcott