school of hard knocks

English

Etymology

1870.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

school of hard knocks (plural schools of hard knocks)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly US) The source of an education consisting of real-world experiences, especially adverse experiences.
   • 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?

Synonyms

• university of life
• university of the streets

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)
• 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