school of hard knocks

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school of hard knocks

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Noun

school of hard knocks (plural schools of hard knocks)

2. (countable, idiomatic, chiefly US) The source of an education consisting of real-world experiences, especially adverse experiences. [1870]

   Synonyms: university of hard knocks, university of life, university of the streets

   • 1870, The Men Who Advertise: An Account of Successful Advertisers, New York: Rowell, page 161:

     Trained, however, in the school of hard knocks, he now had learned the theory of success, and from that time on has had it.

   • 2000 April 26, Walter A. McDougall, “Who Were We in Vietnam?”, in New York Times, retrieved 3 Aug. 2008:

     Did Vietnam's school of hard knocks teach Americans to do peacemaking and state building right?

Translations

source of education by adverse experience

Chinese: Mandarin: 人生學校 / 人生学校 (rénshēng xuéxiào) (school of life) Finnish: elämänkoulu (fi), kantapään kautta oppiminen French: école de vie f, école de la vie (fr) f (school of life) German: Schule des Lebens f (school of life) Kazakh: өмір мектебі (ömır mektebı) (school of life) Polish: szkoła życia (literally “school of life”) Portuguese: escola da vida f (school of life) Romanian: școala vieții f (school of life) Russian: шко́ла жи́зни f (škóla žízni) (school of life) Spanish: gramática parda f (colloquial) Swedish: livets hårda skola (sv) (the tough school of life)

See also

• experience is the best teacher
• learn from experience
• learn the hard way
• life lesson