to know life
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To be well versed in the niceties of social intercourse, good breeding, manners, etc.; to be up to all the dodges by which one may be imposed upon.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to know life” mean?
To be well versed in the niceties of social intercourse, good breeding, manners, etc.; to be up to all the dodges by which one may be imposed upon.
Is “to know life” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.