be born yesterday

verb

To be new, naive, innocent, inexperienced, or easily deceived.

“I was not born yesterday, you know. I have done this before!”

Similar
fall off the turnip truckbe born last weekcome down in the last shower
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Meanings

verbbe born yesterday (third-person singular simple present is born yesterday, no present participle, simple past was born yesterday, no past participle)

present singular third person is born yesterday · past was born yesterday

  1. informalno past participleno present participlestativeTo be new, naive, innocent, inexperienced, or easily deceived.

    I was not born yesterday, you know. I have done this before!

    4 more examples

    "Do you think," he added, with an ironical grin, "that you'll go for to gammon me into that air! I'm hinnocent, I know, but I wasn't born yesterday exactly."

    1840, Henry Cockton, chapter 60, in The Life and Adventures of Valentine Vox, the Ventriloquist, page 508

    "Say, do I look like I was born yesterday? See any green in my eye, Cactus Center?"

    1915, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 6, in Steve Yeager

    "Compared to me, you were born yesterday."

    1998, Gwyn Hyman Rubio, Icy Sparks, page 155

    If you don't know important things about history, then it's as if you were born yesterday.

    2005, Howard Zinn, Donaldo Pereira Macedo, Howard Zinn on Democratic Education, page 69

    Synonyms: fall off the turnip truck, be born last week, come down in the last shower

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo be new, naive, innocent, inexperienced, or easily deceived.

Similar
fall off the turnip truckbe born last weekcome down in the last shower
Also see
be born last weekcome down in the last shower

Translations

Catalan caure del niu, sortir de l'ou
  • caure del niuto be inexperienced
  • sortir de l'outo be inexperienced
Dutch van gisteren zijn
  • van gisteren zijnto be inexperienced
Finnish olla märkäkorva, olla eilisen teeren poika
  • olla märkäkorvato be inexperienced
  • olla eilisen teeren poikato be inexperienced
French ne pas être né de la dernière pluie
  • ne pas être né de la dernière pluieto be inexperienced
German von gestern sein
  • von gestern seinto be inexperienced
Hungarian most jött le a falvédőről, most jött a hathúszassal
  • most jött le a falvédőrőlto be inexperienced
  • most jött a hathúszassalto be inexperienced
Irish tar isteach leis an lán mara
  • tar isteach leis an lán marato be inexperienced
Italian essere nato ieri
  • essere nato ierito be inexperienced
Polish spaść z księżyca
  • spaść z księżycato be inexperienced
Portuguese ser nascido ontem
  • ser nascido ontemto be inexperienced
Russian вчера́ роди́лся
  • вчера́ роди́лся (včerá rodílsja)to be inexperienced
Scottish Gaelic cha b' ann an-diugh no an-dè a rugadh mise
  • cha b' ann an-diugh no an-dè a rugadh miseto be inexperienced
Spanish haber nacido ayer, nacer ayer
  • haber nacido ayerto be inexperienced
  • nacer ayerto be inexperienced
  • caerse de un guindoto be inexperienced
  • caerse del nidoto be inexperienced
  • chuparse el dedoto be inexperienced
Swedish vara född igår, född i farstun
  • vara född igårto be inexperienced
  • född i farstunto be inexperienced
Welsh cael geni ddoe
  • cael geni ddoeto be inexperienced
Cite this entry
APA

be born yesterday. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be%20born%20yesterday

MLA

“be born yesterday.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be%20born%20yesterday. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “be born yesterday,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be%20born%20yesterday.

Source: be born yesterday on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.