street wisdom
Hard-won practical knowledge
Street wisdom is practical knowledge gained from lived experience in tough urban environments rather than formal education.
It encompasses survival skills, social intelligence, and shrewd judgment about people and situations: His street wisdom kept him out of trouble.
The term suggests hard-won insight that books can't teach—knowing who to trust, when to walk away, how systems really work.
Also called street smarts.
- streetwiseShrewd from urban experience
- hustleEnergetic, aggressive action
- savvyPractical shrewdness
- gritDetermination or abrasive particles
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
school of hard knocks · common sense · experience · learned the hard way · cunning · instinct · eyes open · alley · pavement · tough · real talk · keeping it real · knowing · sharp · resourceful · scrappy · streetsmart · lessons
street wisdombook learning
Knowledge from study
formal education · book smarts · schooling · classroom learning · abstract reasoning
street wisdomnaivety
Innocent lack of experience
innocence · unworldliness · gullibility · greenness · inexperience