livets hårda skola

Swedish

Etymology

From livets (“(the) life's”) +‎ hårda (“hard, tough”) +‎ skola (“school”), "the tough school of life."

Noun

livets hårda skola

1. (idiomatic) the school of hard knocks

   att gå i livets hårda skola

   to go to the school of hard knocks

Usage notes

Sometimes used in a mocking sense to imply that someone's opinions on a subject carry little weight because they have not formally studied it.

References

• skola in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)