babe in the woods
1
8.1
- idiom
- /beɪb ɪn ðə wʊdz/
- Informal
:
inexperto
- They are babes in the woods, in every sense.
Examples
-
As a newcomer to the city, she was a babe in the woods, unaware of the dangers lurking around.
-
Ben was no babe in the woods.
-
Oh, I'm as lost as a babe in the woods.
-
On a subject of that sort, well, we're babes in the woods, both of us.
-
"You can see she's an innocent, a babe in the woods."
Fiction book (1990) -
You're babes in the woods here.
-
Sure, but you'll have to show me the way because I'm just a babe-in-the-woods.
-
He felt like a babe in the woods when he started his first job, unsure of what to do.
-
Despite her advanced degree, she often felt like a babe in the woods when it came to real-world situations.
Synonyms
70
8.9
A young person who is inexperienced and too confident
1
7.6
A person who is too innocent about how the world works and trusts others easily
1
7.2
A very young child being carried or a person who is very inexperienced
1
8.8
A person who is new, shy, and easily frightened
A person who is innocent and trusts people easily
Antonyms
How Inexperienced
- Informal
1
8.1
∞
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'inexperienced or naive and therefore vulnerable' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'babe' (a baby/naive person) with 'in the woods' (being in an unfamiliar or exposed environment), yielding a clear mental image of vulnerability. This is a straightforward figurative extension of the literal parts rather than an arbitrary idiom, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase babe in the woods may come from the simple picture of a babe lost in the woods, helpless and not knowing the dangers. That's why it now means someone who is 'inexperienced' or 'naive' and easy to trick or harm.