school of hard knocks

To learn something (usually a life lesson) the hard way. (Some say the best way to really learn is to learn from your mistakes.)

She was street wise... having learned many a lesson about life at the school of hard knocks.

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Jakeetchee

Slang for a person, place, or thing.

Did you see that Jakeetchee at the bar?

She was so hot.

What are doing Jakeetchee?

That Jakeetchee was so good. We have to go try it again.

Oh no not that Jakeetchee again.

dog's breakfast

An unappealing mixture of many things... a hodgepodge... a disorganzined mess... but probably still usable (or consumable in the case of food.) From the idea that a dog will eat anything and feeding it a mixture of whatever is on hand. (Unappealing because only the dog finds its breakfast appealing... if you see or smell the dog food in the morning, as you're feeding the dog, it may well turn your stomach.)

Those contractors didn't do very good work and the made a real dog's breakfast of that job

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to hell and back

Through the ringer... When you had to do something really hellish difficult and your survived to tell about it... but you're probably not in good shape after the effort (it took a lot out of you.)

Man I drank too much last night... I am so hung over that I feel like I've been to hell and back.

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freeze the balls off a brass monkey

Statement about the temperature being very cold.

Background:
A brass monkey is a naval term for the holder that holds the cannon balls. It was made of brass and the cannon balls were not, so when it got cold enough, the two metals would contract by different amounts and the cannon balls would no longer fit properly in the holder and thus fall off.

Person 1: Holy crap its freezing in here.
Person 2: Yeah, its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.

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press the flesh

What a politician does (or should be doing if s/he hopes to get elected) during the run-up to an election. It means to make contact with the voters by means of personal skin to skin contact (but hopefully non-sexual), such as shaking hands and kissing babies. In a general sense it implies getting out and getting in the face of as many different voters as possible because if they meet someone they're probably more likely to have a positive opinion of them than the candidates that they didn't meet in person.

Mr. Bush probably doesn't need to go out and press the flesh because he is running for re-election based on his first term record.

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dog tired

I have no idea of the origins of this word, so my understanding of it may be wrong, but where I come from its a phrase that means you're so completely tired that you're over tired or totally beat. I can only hguess its a reference to the fact that a lot of dogs seem to sleep a lot and thus appear to always be tired and in need of sleep.

I pulled a double shift last night and when I got home the neighbours were having a rowdy party with loud music and I couldn't get any decent sleep. I am already dog tired and I have another double shift tomorrow.

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