Do you believe that experience is the best teacher?
An Idiom a Day
Episode 211-Transcript and Idiom Notes
Monday, 9 September 2019
school of hard knocks
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In the second half of the 19th century, many rural areas of the United States and Canada were served by one-room schoolhouses. For those students who lived beyond walking distance, a horse-drawn carriage, called a kid hack, was used to transport children to school.
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In April of 1939, Frank W. Cyr, a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, organized a meeting to establish national school bus construction standards, including the adoption of a standard shade of paint. The color, School Bus Yellow, was selected because black lettering was easier to see in the early morning and late afternoon school bus runs. Today, the official color is called National School Bus Glossy Yellow….the wheels on the bus go round and round
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Hello and welcome to episode 211 …of… An Idiom a Day
I’m Gina Johnson and the idiom of the day …is… the school of hard knocks
QUOTE
The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson. ~ Tom Bodett
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the school of hard knocks …
a difficult or painful experience that people have in their lives and careers
to learn something as a result of difficult or unpleasant experiences
experience gained from hard work
learning through difficult experiences
learning from your mistakes
Difficult experiences taught me about life.
Here is the same sentence using the idiom… the school of hard knocks
The school of hard knocks taught me about life.
Here are a few more sentences using the idiom … the school of hard knocks
The school of hard knocks will teach you what you did not learn in school.
My uncle did not get an opportunity to go to college. Instead, he graduated from the school of hard knocks.
The successful entrepreneur never got an MBA but came up through the school of hard knocks.
Several business owners developed their skills from the school of hard knocks.
#CONVERSATION STARTER
QUESTION
Do you believe that experience is the best teacher?
An Idiom a Day is sponsored by Native Tongue English. NTE is an online resource for ESL students, teachers, and tutors who study, live and work in America and abroad. For today’s podcast transcript and idiom notes visit Native Tongue English. That’s www–dot–NAT–IVE–TON–GUE–dash– ENG–LISH– dot– com
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Thank you for listening and the next idiom is… in absentia
Remember…Learn Something New Every Day
IDIOM NOTES
GRAMMAR
USAGE
informal
ALTERNATIVES
the University of Life
experiences as opposed to a formal education
I received the most painful lessons from the University of Life.
knocks
hard knocks
knocks refer to setbacks
The Senator took a few knocks early in his political career.
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