School of Hard Knocks

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For other uses, see School of Hard Knocks (disambiguation).
"University of Life" redirects here. For other uses, see University of Life (disambiguation).
An item appearing in the Peninsula Enterprise newspaper about the "School of Hard Knocks" (1918)

The School of Hard Knocks (also referred to as the University of Life or University of Hard Knocks) is an

formal education. The term originated in the United States; its earliest documented use was in 1870 in the book The Men Who Advertise:[1]

"... 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".[2]

It is a phrase which is most typically used by a person to claim a level of

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.[3]

In 1947, newspaperman

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.

See also

References

  1. ^ "school, n.1". OED Online. June 2019. Oxford University Press.
  2. OCLC 271921
    .
  3. ^ NZ Herald - David Hill: Struggling for right meaning
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