hard knocks

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ritter fleshes out Liz and shows more of her vulnerable side through flashbacks to the hard knocks she experienced in her emotionally turbulent past.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

"Everyone loved her. I grew up with Tina Turner and she was a great woman to me, with a lot of sorrow too due to life's hard knocks but absolutely someone we could admire."

From Reuters • May 25, 2023

But Ms Blessley says "it's not a museum piece" and has faced some hard knocks.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2023

Brown agreed, saying, “Through the school of hard knocks, we’re better at managing through it.”

From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2022

Shasta cried only a very little; he was used to hard knocks.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis