hardships, sufferings or misfortunes.
Hard means harsh or cruel, difficult to endure or
bear. A
knock is a
sharp, heavy
blow or
stroke, as with a fist,
hammer, etc.; used figuratively, it means a setback or misfortune. Hard knocks is often used in the expression the
school of hard knocks, which means the
practical experience of
life, including hardship and disappointment (considered as a means of
education or instruction as in learning from one's mistakes). It originated in the nineteenth century when only a privileged few received
advanced education, but many people rose through the
ranks of
industry to considerable achievement without formal
study.