From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdo something the hard waydo something the hard wayto learn, achieve, or do something after a bad experience or by making mistakes He learned the hard way about the harsh reality of the boxing world. Make sure you put the baby’s diaper on before you start feeding her. I learned this lesson the hard way. He earned his promotion the hard way. → hard
Examples from the Corpus
learned the hard way• Bette Davis learned the hard way.• Sorry, Colin, but you learned the hard way about the harsh truths of the boxing world.• But most of what we learned the hard way, Adam Smith had explained three hundred years before. 1.• His earliest students learned the hard way by helping to erect experimental plant and doing the pipe fitting.• The townspeople had learned the hard way that curiosity killed the cat - you stayed indoors if there was trouble. 