school of hard knocks

American  

noun

1. the experience gained from living, especially from disappointment and hard work, regarded as a means of education.

   The only school he ever attended was the school of hard knocks.

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school of hard knocks Idioms  

1. The practical experience of life, including hardship and disappointments. For example, A self-made man, he never went to college but came up through the school of hard knocks. This idiom uses knock, “a blow,” as a metaphor for a setback. [Mid-1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of school of hard knocks

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

Dubois is a graduate of the literal school of hard knocks.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2024

After all, the hotel job was a step up on what he’d done before, in a whole other school of hard knocks.

From The Guardian • Sep. 25, 2019

Asked about the Cubans who have struck it rich in America, he said: “They all come from the same school of hard knocks, from the same plan.”

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2016

Yet, being a McKinley graduate was like having a degree from the school of hard knocks.

From Washington Times • Oct. 11, 2015

Trained in the school of hard knocks, the sailor knew the value of discipline and gunnery, of the smart ship and the willing crew, while on land the soldier rusted and lost his zeal.

From The Fight for a Free Sea: A Chronicle of the War of 1812 The Chronicles of America Series, Volume 17 by Paine, Ralph Delahaye