Englishstreet smarts
Meaning: The knowledge one needs to live on the streets; less literally, it means knowledge of the way things work in the real world.
Example: “Her street smarts kept her safe during years of travel.”
Origin: American slang, with its earliest documented appearance in the Chicago Daily Defender in 1966, describing the practical, hard-won survival knowledge and social savvy that comes specifically from real, direct experience navigating an often difficult urban environment, rather than from formal schooling. The phrase was deliberately built to contrast with "book smarts," academic intelligence gained through study — the two terms together drawing a sharp, commonly recognized line between theoretical knowledge learned in a classroom and practical, adaptive competence earned the hard way, out in the world itself.
More English idioms
- strike it rich To become rich or successful suddenly.
- take off To leave quickly; or to become suddenly successful or popular.
- take potluck To accept whatever is available.
- take someone to the cleaners To steal or cheat someone out of all of his or her money.
- take something in stride To accept and adjust to bad fortune or trouble.
- talk a blue streak To talk fast and at length.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Santos da casa não fazem milagres People are rarely valued by those closest to them.
- Casa roubada, trancas à porta People take precautions only after the damage is done.
- Filho de peixe sabe nadar Children inherit their parents' skills.
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