
IdiomFood & Drink
Russian
молоко на губах не обсохло (moloko na gubakh ne obsokhlo)
Meaning: a very young or inexperienced person; someone barely past infancy.
Literally: Milk has not dried on the lips
Example: “Он учит меня водить, а у самого молоко на губах не обсохло.” — He's teaching me to drive, and he's still wet behind the ears.
English equivalent: Wet behind the ears
Equivalents in other languages
German: feucht hinter den Ohren Literally: Wet behind the earsEnglish: wet behind the ears
Origin: The milk is the mother's milk, as Russian Wiktionary notes: someone on whose lips it has not yet dried is barely out of babyhood. It is said dismissively of a young person who acts more experienced than they are. Italian has the same image in avere ancora il latte sulle labbra.
More Russian idioms
- Чья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала (Ch'ya by korova mychala, a tvoya by molchala) You're in no position to criticize; you have the same fault, or a worse one.
- Игра не стоит свеч (Igra ne stoit svech) The effort or money spent won't be repaid by the result.
- Не вешай лапшу на уши (Ne veshay lapshu na ushi) Don't lie to me; stop trying to deceive me.
- Когда рак на горе свистнет (Kogda rak na gore svistnet) When pigs fly; never.
- Медвежья услуга (Medvezhya usluga) Help that actually makes things worse.
- Тянуть кота за хвост (Tyanut' kota za khvost) To procrastinate; to drag something out.
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