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school of hard knocks

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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Word History and Origins

Origin of school of hard knocks1

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15
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Idioms and Phrases

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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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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