experience

Idioms (5)

• the proof of the pudding is in the eating Formal · CEFR C1
  You can only judge something's value by trying or experiencing it.
• in the trenches Informal · CEFR C1
  doing the difficult, unglamorous, hands-on work at the front line of a problem or project
• cut your teeth on Informal · CEFR C1
  to gain your first experience of something, usually early in your career
• pay your dues Neutral · CEFR C1
  to endure hard, unglamorous work early on as the price of later success
• once bitten, twice shy Neutral · CEFR B2
  a bad experience makes you cautious about repeating it