| Idiom | Knee-High to a Grasshopper |
|---|---|
| Example | Mr. Fernandez always reminds me that he knew me when I was just knee-high to a grasshopper. |
| Meaning | very young and, therefore, very short |
| Origin | This American expression was first recorded in 1814 as "knee-high to a toad." Some people said knee-high to a toad, mosquito, bumblebee, or duck. Some even said "splinter," which definitely doesn't have knees but is small. "Grasshopper" caught on about 1850 because they definitely have knees, and the saying stuck. To come up to the knee of a grasshopper, one would be less than an inch tall! |
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