find out the hard way
English
Verb
find out the hard way
- To acquire knowledge through failure or any other undesirable experience.
- I don't know how well seatbelts protect you, but I certainly don't want to find out the hard way, so I use them either way.
- You can't assume that someone else will call an ambulance. I learnt that the hard way after crashing my bike.
Synonyms
- learn the hard way