hard knocks

hard knocks

The real and practical experiences of life, especially those involving hardship or adversity. The problem with you is that you've been spoiled your whole life. You haven't had any hard knocks to teach you what the world is really like! Real problems have nothing to do with prom and the mall—hard knocks should have taught you that by now. That family's had enough hard knocks to last a lifetime, so I'm glad they're finally getting good news for once.
See also: hard, knock
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
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