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wet behind the ears

Inexperienced; not seasoned; new; just beginning.

Etymology:

  • c. 1850, Pennsylvania, calque from 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. German variants also borrowed.
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He made a lot of mistakes, back when he was still wet behind the ears.

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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'wet behind the ears':

Wet Behind the EarsYoung, not experienced, immature
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märkä korvien takana

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to wet behind the ears

wet dreamstay behindwet the bedwet one's whistleso crooked he could hide behind a spira…walls have earswet the bedwet planketsoaking wetwet dreamrode hard and put away wetSpock earswater is wetwet through

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    "wet behind the ears." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/wet-behind-the-ears_7935>.

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