hard knocks

American  

[hahrd noks] / ˈhɑrd ˈnɒks /

plural noun

1. adversity or hardships.

   Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to learn life's hard lessons without life's hard knocks?

   Growing up in the Depression, my grandfather had his share of hard knocks.

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Example Sentences

Ritter fleshes out Liz and shows more of her vulnerable side through flashbacks to the hard knocks she experienced in her emotionally turbulent past.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

"Everyone loved her. I grew up with Tina Turner and she was a great woman to me, with a lot of sorrow too due to life's hard knocks but absolutely someone we could admire."

From Reuters • May 25, 2023

But Ms Blessley says "it's not a museum piece" and has faced some hard knocks.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2023

Sam is a straightforward girl who suffers hard knocks and learns to climb rocks as she undergoes the traumas and revelations of growing up from age 7 to 19.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2023

Shasta cried only a very little; he was used to hard knocks.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis