dry behind the ears

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word dry behind the ears. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word dry behind the ears, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say dry behind the ears in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word dry behind the ears you have here. The definition of the word dry behind the ears will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofdry behind the ears, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Pronunciation

Adjective

dry behind the ears

  1. (idiomatic) Seasoned or experienced; mature, especially with respect to judgment.
    Antonym: wet behind the ears
    • 1850, Springfield Rep., (Whig.), Daily (Columbus) Ohio Statesman, 9 May, p. 3, col. 4:
      Why, you irreclaimable donkey, don’t you know the “notice” was an advertisement? When will you get dry behind the ears?
    • 1910, Jack London, chapter 3, in Burning Daylight:
      When you fellers was his age, you wa'n't dry behind the ears yet. He never was no kid. He was born a full-grown man.
    • 1914 October – 1916 July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 6, in The Mucker, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published 31 October 1921, →OCLC:
      "You're past twenty-one," he said, "an' dry behind the ears."
    • 1939, John Steinbeck, chapter 10, in The Grapes of Wrath:
      ”When you bastards get dry behin' the ears, you'll maybe learn to let a ol' fella sleep."
    • 2001 October 22, William Safire, “Essay: Advance The Story”, in New York Times, retrieved 5 October 2010:
      That wearing of blinders by our intelligence agents was recently revealed by The Washington Post's columnist and editor Jim Hoagland, who is dry behind the ears, to say the least.

Usage notes

  • Mostly used in the negative: not dry behind the ears yet.
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia