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school of hard knocks

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school of hard knocks

Fig. the school of life's experiences, as opposed to a formal, classroom education. I didn't go to college, but I went to the school of hard knocks. I learned everything by experience.

See also: hard, knock, of, school

school of hard knocks

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]

See also: hard, knock, of, school