What does school of hard knocks mean?

Definitions for school of hard knocks
school of hard knocks

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word school of hard knocks.

Wiktionary

  1. school of hard knocksnoun

    The source of an education consisting of real-world experiences, especially adverse experiences.

  2. Etymology: 1870, school + of + hard + knock.

Wikipedia

  1. School of Hard Knocks

    The School of Hard Knocks (also referred to as the University of Life or University of Hard Knocks) is an idiomatic phrase meaning the (sometimes painful) education one gets from life's usually negative experiences, often contrasted with formal education. The term originated in the United States; its earliest documented use was in 1870 in the book The Men Who Advertise: ... his misfortunes were largely owing to the inexperience of youth. Trained, however, in the school of hard knocks, he now had learned the theory of success". It is a phrase which is most typically used by a person to claim a level of wisdom imparted by life experience, which should be considered at least equal in merit to academic knowledge. It is a response that may be given when one is asked about their education, particularly if they do not have an extensive formal education but rather life experiences that should be valued instead. It may also be used facetiously, to suggest that formal education is not of practical value compared with "street" experience. In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the phrases "University of Life" and "School of Hard Knocks" may be used interchangeably.In 1947, newspaperman James Franklin Comstock ("Jim" Comstock) founded the "University of Hard Knocks", an honorary society with a mission to recognize people who have made a success of their life without the benefit of higher education. Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia, US, sponsored the organization, which moved its offices to the A-B campus in 1976. The society was dissolved in 2014.

Wikidata

  1. School of Hard Knocks

    The School of Hard Knocks or University of Hard Knocks is an idiomatic phrase meaning the education one gets from life's usually negative experiences, often contrasted with formal education. The term is frequently misattributed to George Ade, but was actually coined by Elbert Hubbard in a piece he wrote on himself for Cosmopolitan in 1902. The term was re-popularized by the song "It's the Hard Knock Life" from the 1977 musical adaptation of Annie, which chronicles the life of poor, uneducated orphans. The song was also later popularly sampled in the 1998 song "Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z It is a phrase which is most typically used by a person to claim a level of wisdom imparted by life experience, which should be considered at least equal in merit to academic knowledge. It is a response that may be given when one is asked about his or her education, particularly if they do not have an extensive formal education but rather life experiences that should be valued instead. It may also be used facetiously, to suggest that formal education is not of practical value compared to "street" experience. In the UK and New Zealand, the phrases "University of Life" and "School of Hard Knocks" may be used interchangeably.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of school of hard knocks in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of school of hard knocks in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of school of hard knocks in a Sentence

  1. Captain Edmund Blackadder, Blackadder Goes Forth:

    I, on the other hand, have 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 Shit Kicked Out of Me.

  2. Menander:

    The school of hard knocks is an accelerated curriculum.


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"school of hard knocks." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/school+of+hard+knocks>.

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    the transportation of people (as a family or colony) to a new settlement (as after an upheaval of some kind)
    A temptation
    B relocation
    C disguise
    D plantation

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