"the hard way" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the harder way",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "the hardest way",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "the harder way",
        "sup": "the hardest way"
      },
      "expansion": "the hard way (comparative the harder way, superlative the hardest way)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
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          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
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          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Vietnamese translations",
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        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              48,
              60
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He never asks for advice; he always does things the hard way.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              17,
              29
            ]
          ],
          "text": "They'll find out the hard way that there's no such thing as a free lunch.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              84,
              96
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I don't know how well seatbelts protect you, but I certainly don't want to find out the hard way, so I use them either way.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              73,
              85
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You can't assume that someone else will call an ambulance. I learnt that the hard way after crashing my bike.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a way that is more difficult than necessary; by adverse experience."
      ],
      "id": "en-the_hard_way-en-adv-mCZOuE8M",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In a way that is more difficult than necessary; by adverse experience."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
          "word": "à la dure"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
          "word": "auf die harte Tour"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
          "word": "por las malas"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
          "word": "a la mala"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "the hard way"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the harder way",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "the hardest way",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "the harder way",
        "sup": "the hardest way"
      },
      "expansion": "the hard way (comparative the harder way, superlative the hardest way)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
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    {
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        "English adverbs",
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        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
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        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Vietnamese translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              48,
              60
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He never asks for advice; he always does things the hard way.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              17,
              29
            ]
          ],
          "text": "They'll find out the hard way that there's no such thing as a free lunch.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              84,
              96
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I don't know how well seatbelts protect you, but I certainly don't want to find out the hard way, so I use them either way.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              73,
              85
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You can't assume that someone else will call an ambulance. I learnt that the hard way after crashing my bike.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a way that is more difficult than necessary; by adverse experience."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In a way that is more difficult than necessary; by adverse experience."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
      "word": "à la dure"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
      "word": "auf die harte Tour"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
      "word": "por las malas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "by experiencing the consequences of making mistakes",
      "word": "a la mala"
    }
  ],
  "word": "the hard way"
}