Life is not unalloyed pleasure or relaxation.
‘This life ain't all beer and skittles.’ Many a time‥when I am disappointed sadly I say that saw over.
[1855 T. C. Haliburton Nature & Human Nature I. ii.]
Life isn't all beer and skittles.
[1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's Schooldays i. ii.]
‘It's an experience, isn't it?’ ‘Teach him life can't be all beer and skittles,’ said Robert Gardner maliciously.
[1931 A. Christie Sittaford Mystery xxvi.]
‘“Life,” as the saying goes,’ he solemnly informed Persis, ‘“is not all beer and skittles.”’
[1985 B. J. Morison Beer & Skittles iii.]
Related to: life
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
