cut (your) teeth in (something)

to get your first experience doing a particular kind of work or using a particular skill.

He cut his teeth in politics as a campaign manager for a small-town mayor.

They had just graduated from law school and were anxious to cut their teeth on a case.

• au naturel
• autumn years
• avail of
• avail of something
• avail yourself of
• avail yourself of something
• avant-garde
• average out to
• average out to something
• a vicious circle
• a voice in the wilderness
• avoid like the plague
• avoid someone like the plague
• avoid something like the plague
• a volte-face
• a wake-up call
• a walk of life
• a war of nerves
• a war of words
• a waste of breath
• a watched pot never boils.
• a way of life
• a weak link
• a weak link in the chain
• a wet blanket