sadder but wiser

sadder but wiser

Knowledgeable or experienced after having gone through something unpleasant or unfortunate. We came through the economic disaster sadder but wiser, hopefully better prepared for such disasters in the future. I left the dinner sadder but wiser, understanding just how entrenched her family's bigotry still is.See also: but, sad, wiser

sadder but wiser

Cliché unhappy but knowledgeable [about someone or something--after an unpleasant event]. After the accident, I was sadder but wiser, and would never make the same mistake again. We left the meeting sadder but wiser, knowing that we could not ever come to an agreement with Becky's aunt.See also: but, sad, wiser

sadder but wiser

Unhappy but having learned from one's mistakes, as in Sadder but wiser, she's never going near poison ivy again. The pairing of these two adjectives was first recorded in Samuel Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798). See also: but, sad, wiser