in the wars
1
7.9
- idiom
- UK
- His face showed the marks of a life lived in the wars, filled with hardships and challenges he had overcome.
Examples
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After years of struggling with addiction, she finally emerged from the wars stronger and more resilient.
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He was wounded in the war, and they put this steel plate in his head.
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What really gets me is I was too young to fight in the war, because what was that all about except to prove that if everybody pitches in, the plain people have a chance.
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Alexander fought in the war, got wounded, so I don't criticise him, but not enough other people are speaking out.
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An army that had fought in the war between the states, that had bravely battled in many an Indian campaign, now patrolled the West in a time of peace, with ever-present thoughts of home.
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Many veterans return home with stories of their battles in the wars, reflecting the difficulties they faced.
Synonyms
Antonyms
How Damaged
Surface Forms
Morphology
The component 'war' evokes organized struggle or hardship, so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer a general sense of having suffered difficulties. However, the pluralised idiomatic slot 'in the wars' (used colloquially to mean battered or showing signs of hardship) is a fixed, informal phrase whose specific sense and usage are not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
In the wars may come from old boxing. A fighter who had been in many wars, meaning many 'fights', would have cuts and bruises and look beaten, so the phrase now means someone who has had many problems or is 'showing signs of hardship'.