wet behind the ears

Cultural  

1. Immature, inexperienced, and naïve: “Don't rely on his advice about girlfriends; he's still wet behind the ears.”

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wet behind the ears Idioms  

1. Also, not dry behind the ears. Immature, inexperienced, as in How can you take instructions from Tom? He's still wet behind the ears, or Jane's not dry behind the ears yet. This term alludes to the fact that the last place to dry in a newborn colt or calf is the indentation behind its ears. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wet behind the ears

He's young, but he may not be wet behind the ears.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

“She walked into a situation - a tiny little indie movie with a bunch of young people wet behind the ears - and she came in so funny, so crisp and so brilliant,” says Showalter.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 9, 2016

Still so wet behind the ears, disc golf may be the nation's least stuffy sport.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2016

He recalls legendary coach Chuck Noll telling the wet behind the ears crop of new talent that even though being paid to play made football their profession, it shouldn’t be their life.

From Forbes ● Feb. 11, 2015

In my mind, the dead boys were all boys, recent high school graduates, barely shaving and wet behind the ears.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• fresh
• new
• raw