hard knocks
5
6.0
- noun
- Informal
:
lecciones duras
- Many successful people attribute their achievements to the hard knocks they faced in life.
- school of hard knocks
If you want to get in there and take them seriously, be prepared to take some Hard Knocks.
- If you want to get in there and take them seriously, be prepared to take some Hard Knocks.
- You know, how does someone really learn distribution, though, without really having gone through sort of the, the hard school of Hard Knocks with it?
Examples
-
It's been a nice life with a few hard knocks along the way.
Blog text (13) -
I am left wondering what happened to this kid; sure, life has given me a few hard knocks—but to be honest, we all have a story to tell!
Blog text (7) -
It's also part of the school of hard knocks for the future.
Blog text (7) -
These are the tough-cookie type, the kind who take the hard knocks and get on with their lives.
Fiction book (2001) -
He was speaking from the school of life, from the school of hard knocks.
Blog text (34) -
I must surely have experience equivalent to several doctorates in the school of hard knocks.
Academic text (1990) -
Nick, J.K. Rowling is an excellent example of someone who knows about the school of hard knocks.
Blog text (28) -
Education and experience in the school of hard knocks will keep the process moving along, albeit at an apparent glacial pace.
Blog text (22) -
He was a very well-educated man from the school of hard knocks.
Blog text (17) -
They also need a more thorough grounding in the school of hard knocks, a la Justice Sotomayor, both personal and professional.
Blog text (22)
Synonyms
382
2.9
A period when someone has difficulty or trouble
128
3.4
A time of serious difficulty, often with little money or food
104
3.1
A period when people have many problems with money or daily life
71
4.9
A difficult time when you face many problems
2
6.1
A time when someone has many problems and finds life difficult
1
7.4
Life experience you get by facing hard problems instead of formal education
1
3.9
A difficult time that is hard to get through
How Hard
- Specialized
304
4.8
- Informal
5
6.0
128
3.4
651
2.4
148
3.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts 'hard' (strong) + 'knocks' (hits) transparently suggest 'strong blows', and the MWE extends that image metaphorically to mean difficult or painful life experiences. Because the meaning requires a simple metaphorical mapping from physical hits to adversity rather than a completely unpredictable idiom, an average B1 learner who knows the words might guess the sense but may not be certain without exposure.
Etymology
Hard knocks comes from the picture of a person receiving many hard knocks or hits, like in a fight or rough work. Those painful knocks teach you to be tougher, so hard knocks means 'difficult experiences' that teach important lessons.