grasshopper
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
be knee-high to a grasshopper
To be young. When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I loved playing with dolls and stuffed animals. Unfortunately, Ed's mother died when he was still knee-high to a grasshopper. I haven't seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper. My goodness, you're all grown up now!
See also: grasshopper, to
grasshead
slang Someone who frequently smokes marijuana. Yeah, I smoke pot every now and then, but I'm not a grasshead or anything. Of course I'm worried about my younger brother—he's a total grasshead doing nothing productive with his life! Hmm, smells like there are some grassheads in our midst.
grasshopper
slang Someone who frequently smokes marijuana. Yeah, I smoke pot every now and then, but I'm not a grasshopper or anything. Of course I'm worried about my younger brother—he's a total grasshopper doing nothing productive with his life! Hmm, smells like there are some grasshoppers in our midst.
knee-high to a grasshopper
1. Very young. When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I loved playing with dolls and stuffed animals. Unfortunately, Ed's mother died when he was still knee-high to a grasshopper.
2. Diminutive, as in size, stature, or importance. He was knee-high to a grasshopper all throughout middle school, but in high school he suddenly shot up to 6'2''. I felt knee-high to a grasshopper when I first joined the massive law firm.
See also: grasshopper, to
knee-high to a jackrabbit
1. Very young. A variant of "knee-high to a grasshopper." Wow, I haven't played with one of these old toys since I was knee-high to a jackrabbit. Unfortunately, Ed's mother died when he was still knee-high to a jackrabbit.
2. Diminutive, as in size, stature, or importance. He was knee-high to a jackrabbit all throughout middle school, but in high school he suddenly shot up to 6'2''. I felt knee-high to a jackrabbit when I first joined the massive law firm.
See also: to
since (one) was knee-high to a grasshopper
Since one was very young. Wow, I haven't played with one of these old toys since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*knee-high to a jackrabbit
and *knee-high to a grasshopperRur. very small or short. (Usually used to describe children. *Typically: be ~; since someone was ~.) I've known you since you were knee-high to a jackrabbit. My, how you've grown! The last time I saw you, you were knee-high to a grasshopper!
See also: to
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
knee-high to a grasshopper
Quite young, as in I haven't seen him since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. This hyperbolic expression, dating from about 1850 and alluding to someone's youth, replaced the earlier knee-high to a mosquito or bumblebee or splinter.
See also: grasshopper, to
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
knee-high to a grasshopper
OLD-FASHIONEDIf you say that you have done something since you were knee-high to a grasshopper, you mean that you have done it since you were a very young child. I've lived here since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
See also: grasshopper, to
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
knee-high to a grasshopper
very small or very young. informal, humorousIn this form the phrase apparently dates from the mid 19th century, but early 19th-century US versions include knee-high to a toad and knee-high to a mosquito .
See also: grasshopper, to
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
knee-high to a ˈgrasshopper
(informal, humorous) (of a child) very small; very young: I haven’t seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper!See also: grasshopper, to
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
grasshead
and grasser and grasshopper n. a marijuana smoker. (Drugs.) The grassheads are taking over this neighborhood. The principle called the “grassers” in and gave them hell.
grasshopper
verbSee grasshead
knee-high to a grasshopper
mod. of very short stature. (Folksy.) I knew you when you were knee-high to a grasshopper.
See also: grasshopper, to
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
knee-high to a grasshopper
Small and, usually, quite young. The term, used most often to describe someone’s extreme youth, originated in America about 1850, when it replaced the earlier nineteenth-century hyperboles knee-high to a mosquito, bumble-bee, and splinter. A challenge arose in knee-high to a duck, current from about 1900 to the 1940s, but grasshopper outstripped and survived it, too.
See also: grasshopper, to
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
knee high to a grasshopper
Very young. A grasshopper is tiny, and to stand, metaphorically speaking, no higher than the insect's knee was to be very small or young or both. The expression was usually used by male relatives to point out either a child's youth (“Drive the tractor by yourself?— why, you're not even knee-high to a grasshopper”) or the speaker's experience (“I've driven tractors since I was knee high to a grasshopper”).
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price