1
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Profit from experience, as in I ignored the garden book, planted my beans in March, and they all rotted? live and learn. [Second half of 1500s]
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): live and learn
Cliché to increase one’s knowledge by experience. (Usually said when one is surprised to learn something.) • I didn’t know that snakes could swim. Well, live and learn! • John didn’t know he should water his houseplants a little extra in the dry winter months. When they all died, he said, "Live and learn."
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs