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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of school of hard knocks¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

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]

Example Sentences

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

From BBC

Instead of Dr. Mary, who graduated from the “school of hard knocks,” we have Olivia Finch, played by Toks Olagundoye, a Black woman who is chair of the psychology department at Harvard, and whose sister, we learn, is provost at Yale.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Black’s theatrical approach to performance extended to dramatic speaking — he commissioned a large-scale work from Philip Glass that includes the recitation of poetry by Lou Reed and Patti Smith — and even dancing, as a member of Yoshiko Chuma’s School of Hard Knocks, an interdisciplinary troupe.

From New York Times

Breaking up more somber moments are two festive interludes, a School of Hard Knocks award ceremony and graduation, celebrating members of Chuma’s wide-reaching artistic circle.

From New York Times

That’s always true of any live performance, but even more so when it comes to the highly collaborative and volatile happenings that Chuma directs for her multidisciplinary company, the School of Hard Knocks.

From New York Times