school of hard knocks
learning from painful experience
TRANSLATION
school of hard knocks = auf die harte Tour lernen, durch die harte Schule des Lebens gehen --- GOOGLE INDEX school of hard knocks: approximately 800,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
As for money skills, parents get little help from schools, which usually don't offer instruction until high school. 'If parents don't take the time to answer their kids' questions about money, the SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS will,' says Dara Duguay, executive director of the Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.
(Business Week magazine)
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Most people, once they graduate from the SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS, automatically enrol in the University of Adversity.
- Peter McWilliams, (1949-2000), a writer and cannabis activist who actively promoted the medicinal use of marijuana.
(Business Week magazine)
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Most people, once they graduate from the SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS, automatically enrol in the University of Adversity.
- Peter McWilliams, (1949-2000), a writer and cannabis activist who actively promoted the medicinal use of marijuana.
Did you
know?
school of hard knocks
idiomatic phrase
- something you learn as a result of difficult or unpleasant experiences
(Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
Hard knocks refers to "getting knocked around hard", a way to express that you’ve had some difficult experiences or a rough life. Thus if you come from the "school of hard knocks", you’ve learned life the hard way. The phrase is often used by people who lack a formal education and instead have relied on practical experience to make a living and survive.
The exact origin of this phrase is unclear, but one of the earliest instances of its usage is in the 1912 novel titled "Knocking the neighbors" from American author George Ade:
"They had been brought up in the school of hard knocks, but they wanted Bertrand and Isabel to go through life on ball bearings."
The phrase also became part of an oft-quoted line from the very popular BBC television sitcom Black Adder, starring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean). The series centred around various generations of the Blackadder family as embodied in its sole visible member, Edmund -- a cynical and arrogant British nobleman who fails to succeed at most of his schemes. Each generation’s Edmund is aided by the sidekick Baldrick, a mindless servant with unhealthy habits and occupations.
In the concluding series Black Adder Goes Forth, in which Atkinson plays World War I army captain Edmund Blackadder, he conveys his opinion about a university education:
"I, on the other hand, am a fully rounded human being with a degree from the university of life, a diploma from the school of hard knocks, and three gold stars from the kindergarten of getting the sh-- kicked out of me."
(sources: BBC)
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SYNONYMS
learn the hard way, find out the hard way, University of Life,
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"He has a good perspective on life because he comes from the school of hard knocks."
idiomatic phrase
- something you learn as a result of difficult or unpleasant experiences
(Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Hard knocks refers to "getting knocked around hard", a way to express that you’ve had some difficult experiences or a rough life. Thus if you come from the "school of hard knocks", you’ve learned life the hard way. The phrase is often used by people who lack a formal education and instead have relied on practical experience to make a living and survive.
The exact origin of this phrase is unclear, but one of the earliest instances of its usage is in the 1912 novel titled "Knocking the neighbors" from American author George Ade:
"They had been brought up in the school of hard knocks, but they wanted Bertrand and Isabel to go through life on ball bearings."
The phrase also became part of an oft-quoted line from the very popular BBC television sitcom Black Adder, starring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean). The series centred around various generations of the Blackadder family as embodied in its sole visible member, Edmund -- a cynical and arrogant British nobleman who fails to succeed at most of his schemes. Each generation’s Edmund is aided by the sidekick Baldrick, a mindless servant with unhealthy habits and occupations.
In the concluding series Black Adder Goes Forth, in which Atkinson plays World War I army captain Edmund Blackadder, he conveys his opinion about a university education:
"I, on the other hand, am a fully rounded human being with a degree from the university of life, a diploma from the school of hard knocks, and three gold stars from the kindergarten of getting the sh-- kicked out of me."
(sources: BBC)
---
SYNONYMS
learn the hard way, find out the hard way, University of Life,
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"He has a good perspective on life because he comes from the school of hard knocks."
