tenderfeet
Newcomers lacking experience
Tenderfeet is the plural of tenderfoot—a newcomer or novice, especially one unaccustomed to rough outdoor conditions.
The term originated in the American West for inexperienced settlers whose feet hadn't yet toughened to frontier life.
It remains common in scouting, where Tenderfoot is the entry rank: The tenderfeet struggled to keep up on the trail.
The alternative plural tenderfoots also appears.
Inexperienced beginners
- neophytesInexperienced newcomers
- rookiesInexperienced beginners in profession
- amateursNonprofessional participants
- fledglingsYoung birds with feathers
tyros · beginners · novices · dilettantes · raw · untrained · unseasoned · naive
Newly joined members
- entrantsThose who join in
- initiatesStarts or new members
- freshersNew intake students
- cadetsMilitary students in training
apprentices · trainees · probationers · interns · draftees · inductees · enrollees · postulants
Young wild mammal offspring
- badgesWorn symbols of status
- troopMobile group, organized
- jamboreeLarge festive gathering
- campingOutdoor recreational lodging
merit · patrol · den · Webelos · pack · scoutmaster · handbook · oath
Easily broken or damaged
- susceptibleEasily influenced or harmed
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- exposedOut in open
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
unprotected · helpless · precarious · soft · impressionable · sheltered · unprepared · unwary
greenhorns
Inexperienced beginners
- neophytesInexperienced newcomers
- rookiesInexperienced beginners in profession
- amateursNonprofessional participants
fledglings · tyros · beginners · novices · dilettantes · raw · untrained · unseasoned · naive · unskilled
recruits
Newly joined members
cadets · apprentices · trainees · probationers · interns · draftees · inductees · enrollees · postulants · pledges
cubs
Young wild mammal offspring
camping · merit · patrol · den · Webelos · pack · scoutmaster · handbook · oath · campfire
fragile
Easily broken or damaged
- susceptibleEasily influenced or harmed
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- exposedOut in open
delicate · unprotected · helpless · precarious · soft · impressionable · sheltered · unprepared · unwary · gullible
tenderfeetveterans
Former armed forces members
old hands · experts · old-timers · masters · pros
tenderfeetfrontiersmen
Settlers of unsettled land
old hands · tough guys · mountain men · woodsmen · sourdoughs
feet, tenderness, tenderly, footer, tendering, tenderize, tenderfoot, tenderizer, tenderfoots