hard-knock life

[ hahrd-nok lahyf ]

noun

1. a rough life; a life full of hardship and struggle:

   Even with the hard-knock life she had growing up, she never adopts a victim mentality.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard-knock life¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

But when I really close-read Annie’s hard-knock life, I couldn’t help but zero in on how bizarre it is—and how bizarre it is that we still love her so much.

From Slate

I suppose that’s why we continue to blithely share that tune with kids—Annie Jr. remains a popular production in children’s theaters, and though it’s abridged, the junior version features not just “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” but its reprise.

From Slate

An unreliable but exploitable rumor about PJ and Josie’s hard-knock life in juvie leads our heroines to their Big Idea: starting a self-defense club for females, with noble intentions up front but a yen to get close to the gorgeous, popular girls as a bonus.

From Seattle Times

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Holocaust is never mentioned, but Grobglas' character does speak to antisemitic treatment abroad and rough living conditions in New York; the kind of hard-knock life that paves the path for makeshift community centers, like Jewish delis, to provide comfort for those who've lost quite a bit.

From Salon

But what became increasingly obvious with each crunchy step of survey work, is that a live tortoise lingering in this landscape is in for a hard-knock life.

From Washington Times