the hard way
a way of doing something that makes it more difficult than it needs to be:
She always does things the hard way.
C2 If you learn something the hard way, you learn from unpleasant experiences rather than by being taught:
If she won't listen, she'll have to learn/find out the hard way.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Difficult things and people
- a (heavy) cross to bear idiom
- a bitter pill (to swallow) idiom
- a hard/tough nut to crack idiom
- albatross
- bane
- chill
- equation
- handicap
- hiccup
- hot potato
- impediment
- job
- labyrinth
- liability
- nut
- the chill wind of sth idiom
- the sharp end
- the/a devil of a sth idiom
- thorn in your flesh/side idiom
- tie-up
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Difficult situations and unpleasant experiences