origin of the phrase "wet behind the ears"

[ultrafilter]

Does anyone know where this phrase comes from? A search through Cecil’s columns was fruitless, and a search through the SDMB revealed 1000+ threads, which was too much for me to search through.

I’ve heard two theories put forth:

1. It refers to the fact that people aren’t ready to face the day when they first get out of the shower. Part of getting ready is drying behind one’s ears, and this led to the phrase.

2. It refers to the fact that newborn infants are quite literally wet behind the ears.

I don’t find either theory particularly convincing, but if pressed, I’d be more willing to accept the first. Any insights?

[Beruang]

I assume the phrase you’re looking for, and which was dropped from the subject line, is “wet behind the ears.”

I’d always heard it refered to newborn farm animals, who come into the world quite wet. The part behind the ears is the last to dry.

– Beruang

[Saltire]

I’ve always thought number 2 explained it, but I have no reason for this belief. Therefore, ignore me.

However, I wanted to tell you about a bug in vBulletin’s software. If you put quotes in a thread title, said title will cut itself off just before them. Therefore, your title doesn’t end up making sense.

I’m assuming you originally titled the thread: origin of the phrase “wet behind the ears”?

[ultrafilter]

That’s what it was supposed to be. Someone told me that if you put the quoted section inside two sets of double quotes, it would work, but apparently it doesn’t.

[Chronos]

I fixed it. The way to avoid that happening is to submit the thread from the original “new thread” page, not the preview page. Alternately, you can use two sets of single quotes ‘‘like this’’, which looks almost the same, but which has no special meaning for vB.

[ultrafilter]

*Originally posted by Chronos *
**I fixed it. The way to avoid that happening is to submit the thread from the original “new thread” page, not the preview page. Alternately, you can use two sets of single quotes ‘‘like this’’, which looks almost the same, but which has no special meaning for vB. **

Thanks, and I’ll keep that in mind.

[Tripler]

Back to the OP:

"Wet Behind the Ears generally refers to someone inexperienced and or immature. It’s usually applied to someone naive enough to think that he/she knows what they’re doing, and thinks they have the power to do it, but usually fall flat on their ass.

Kinda like when your boss hires his 22 year old snot-assed nephew as Vice President of the company, and the kid starts barking out orders like he know’s what the fuck he’s doing. His ineptitude, arrogance, and folly show through clearly.

Tripler
Trust me. I’ve seen this happen (but not to me).

[samclem]

Beruang has it exactly right.

Interestingly, the phrase originally appears as “dry behind the ears” around 1910, and meaning mature.

It appears as “wet behind the ears” in 1931, but in a reference to it being used around WWI.

[curwin]

On this site:

http://www.word-detective.com/back-c2.html

I found this quote:

“Wet behind the ears,” meaning inexperienced or naive, comes to us from the wonderful world of baby farm animals. It seems that the last part of a newborn horse or cow (“foal” and “calf” to the cognoscenti) to dry out after birth is the area behind the little critter’s ears. Thus, to say that someone is “wet behind the ears” is a folksy way of saying that they lack the experience or savvy necessary to accomplish a task. The first published use of “wet behind the ears” in print dates only to the early 20th century, but most authorities believe that the phrase itself is much older than that and, like many folk sayings, was used in popular speech long before anyone used it in print.

[Squink]

So the phrase started out life “dry behind the ears”, and only later matured to the point of being “wet behind the ears”. That’s horrible !

[Coldfire]

Interesting. The phrase in Dutch is Nat achter de oren, and it means exactly the same. Are there any other languages in which this saying is used?

[Morrison_s_Lament]

In recent years, I’ve heard “Ennþá blautur á bakvið eyrun” in Icelandic, meaning “still wet behind the ears”.

However, this is definitely a recent translation of the English phrase. Could that be the case in Holland, Coldie, or is it an old saying?

— G. Raven

[Galerion]

The same is used in the Swedish language:
dry behind the ears - torr bakom öronen

[malaka]

This guy may think “wet behind the ears” means something totally different…

gag

[Coldfire]

*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament *
However, this is definitely a recent translation of the English phrase. Could that be the case in Holland, Coldie, or is it an old saying?

I’ve heard it all my life. Granted, I was born in 1973, so that doesn’t say much. I was unable to find any ethymology information on it online. I do think it’s older. The practical explanation above suggests that it could have originated anywhere.