wet behind the ears

English

Alternative forms

• green behind the ears, wet-behind-the-ears

Etymology

c. 1850, Pennsylvania, calque of German feucht hinter den Ohren.

From the drying of amniotic fluid on a baby after birth, specifically a new-born farm animal, which last dries behind the ears (partly because licked dry by mother everywhere else). Alternative forms also from German.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Adjective

wet behind the ears

1. (idiomatic) Inexperienced; just beginning; immature (especially in judgment).
   • 1903 August 2, “The Boy Whose Parents Wanted Him to Be Useful”, in Chicago Tribune, retrieved 5 October 2010, page B2:

     [They would put] their hands behind their ears and pat the top of their heads to taunt me with the fact that I was still wet behind the ears and soft on top of the head.

   • 1950 January 13, Roger Appleton, “Police to End Teen-Age Gambling: Strike at Pool Hall Hangouts”, in Ottawa Citizen, Canada, retrieved 5 October 2010, page 18:

     Every week day, pool rooms are filled with scores of boys still "wet behind the ears" who have no business anywhere but in the classroom.

   • 1991 July 15, Dick Thompson, “The Man with the Plan”, in Time:

     Now, here was the freshly minted FDA commissioner, still wet behind the ears at 39.

   • 2004 September 8, Jarrett Bell, “Bengals' Kitna 'classy' about losing job to Palmer”, in USA Today, retrieved 5 October 2010:

     "These young whippersnappers are still wet behind the ears."

Usage notes

• This expression is usually hyphenated when placed before the noun it modifies.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:naive

Antonyms

• dry behind the ears

Translations

References