kantapään kautta

Finnish

Etymology

kantapään (“of the heel”) kautta (“via, through”), "through the heel"

Phrase

kantapään kautta

1. (idiomatic) through the hard way (from the experience, sometimes tough)

Usage notes

Often used in connection with the verb oppia (“to learn”): oppia kantapään kautta (“to learn the hard way”), but also other verbs are acceptable.