A woman in Bowling Green, Kentucky wonders: How did the phrase wet behind ears come to describe someone who’s inexperienced? This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Wet Behind the Ears”
Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Laura Cole and I’m calling from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Well, hello, Laura. Hey, Laura. What’s up? Well, I am calling because I have a question that came up while I was at work. We were talking about offering someone a position and one of my consultants used the phrase, what behind the ears? And I was just kind of curious about the origin behind this saying. I thought it was a little gross sounding, to be honest. So I just want to hear what you guys had to say.
And so what did they mean by somebody was wet behind the ears? She said she meant that they were inexperienced.
Yeah, well, wet behind the ears goes back to an image of a newly born animal, like a calf or a colt. And the idea that when they come out of their mother, when they’re born, they’re wet all over and the last place to dry is right there behind the ears, in the floppy ears.
Okay.
That makes better sense than what I was thinking.
Oh, yeah?
What were you thinking?
Or can you say it?
I wasn’t thinking about animals. I was thinking like childbirth or something.
Well, that too. I’ve never had a kid, so I would have nothing to really compare that to.
They’re wet. Trust me.
I hear it.
Yeah, and English speakers aren’t the only people who have noticed this. There’s a German expression that means roughly the same thing.
Oh, really?
Yeah, and it’s older than the English expression, and there’s some speculation that the English speakers borrowed it from the Germans. So the idea has been around for a very long time.
1600s at least, right?
Wow.
Yeah. So basically the equivalent of born yesterday and still damp.
Well, that makes much better sense.
Does it?
Yes.
Yeah.
Have you ever heard, Laura, the mixed metaphor of it where somebody says green behind the ears?
No, never.
Yeah. I’ve never heard that, really. Because that’s common also in German. German and English speakers both say green behind the ears, fully knowing that it’s a mixed metaphor, usually fully knowing that it’s a mixed metaphor.
Green meaning new.
Yeah, like a new sprout up from the ground.
Right, okay. So I hear people say, like, they’re really green, like, inexperienced. I hear that all the time.
Yep, same thing. Yeah, the idea that it’s brand new just coming up. Like a green horn. Haven’t got their brown bark yet. So there you go.
Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.
Glad to hear from you. Very good. Thank you very much. Take care. Bye.
Thank you.
There’s another German expression which would translate in English as to be thick behind the ears. Do you know this one?
No.
It means to be crafty or sly.
Oh, really?
Yeah. And the word that means thick basically means as thick as a fist, something like that.
Oh, no kidding. So to be thick behind the ears means to be crafty or sly. That’s exactly the opposite of what I would have guessed it means.
Oh, really? You’re thinking thick-headed.
Yeah, like a blockhead.
Yeah, enough room for brains. Too much bone.
Yeah.
