wet behind the ears

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wet behind the ears

Where it comes from

First use appears c. 1850 in Pennsylvania, a calque of German feucht hinter den Ohren. From the drying of amniotic fluid of a baby after birth, specifically a newborn farm animal, whose ears are the last to dry, partly because it is licked dry by its mother everywhere else. Alternative forms also derive from German.

adjective wet-behind-the-ears

idiomatic Inexperienced; just beginning; immature (especially in judgment). [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.
Similar: green behind the ears>> · Opposite: dry behind the ears

Translations

Every language

adj inexperienced, not seasoned

日本語	尻が青い
中文	乳臭未乾 /乳臭未干 rǔxiùwèigān, 少不更事的 shàobùgēngshìde, shàobùjīngshìde
Deutsch	grün hinter den Ohren, noch grün hinter den Ohren sein, nicht trocken hinter den Ohren, noch nicht trocken hinter den Ohren, feucht hinter den Ohren, noch feucht hinter den Ohren
Italiano	alle prime armi, muovere i primi passi, essere un novellino, di primo pelo
Русский	молоко́ на губа́х не обсо́хло molokó na gubáx ne obsóxlo
Tiếng Việt	chân ướt chân ráo

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MLA

"wet behind the ears." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wet%20behind%20the%20ears. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wet behind the ears. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wet%20behind%20the%20ears

Chicago

"wet behind the ears." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wet%20behind%20the%20ears.

BibTeX

@misc{wet_behind_the_ears_2026,
  title = {wet behind the ears},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wet%20behind%20the%20ears},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}