knee-high to a grasshopper
Very, very young
Knee-high to a grasshopper describes someone very young or very small—since a grasshopper's knee is barely visible, the phrase suggests extreme smallness.
It usually appears in reminiscences: I've known him since he was knee-high to a grasshopper.
The expression is folksy and affectionate, evoking rural American speech.
- shortOf limited extent
- smallLimited in size
- youngNot yet mature
- baby teethChild's initial dentition
- pint-sizedVery small in size
ankle-biter · little tyke · wee one · bedtime stories · childhood memories · first steps · growth · tiny · itty bitty · nursery rhymes · idiom · saying · old saying · knee-high · proverb · sawn-off · youthful innocence · expression
- Southern dialecty'all, fixin to, bless your heart, reckon, howdy
knee-high to a grasshopperold as the hills
Extremely long-established
long in the tooth · full-grown · grown-up · over the hill · ancient
knee-high to a grasshoppertall
Of considerable height
towering · giant · full-grown · full-sized · strapping
grasshopper, kneeling, higher, highest, height, grasshoppers, hopper, hopped