sow wild oats

present singular third person sows wild oats · participle present sowing wild oats · past sowed wild oats · participle past sown wild oats · participle past sowed wild oats

1. alternativeAlternative form of sow one's wild oats.

   ‘Mr Swiveller,’ said Quilp, ‘being pretty well accustomed to the agricultural pursuits of sowing wild oats, Miss Sally, prudently considers that half a loaf is better than no bread.

   1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “Chapter the Thirty-third”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1841, →OCLC

   4 more examples

   ‘Hope so, I'm sure. He's just the fellow to do rash things and come to glory—climbing the Matterhorn, taking a “header” into Niagara, or finding a big nugget. That's his way of sowing wild oats, and perhaps it's better than ours,’ said Tom thoughtfully; for he had gained a good deal of experience in that sort of agriculture since he became a medical student.

   1886, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, Jo’s Boys, and How They Turned Out. A Sequel to “Little Men.”, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC

   Miriam pondered this. She saw what he was seeking—a sort of baptism of fire in passion, it seemed to her. She realised that he would never be satisfied till he had it. Perhaps it was essential to him, as to some men, to sow wild oats; and afterwards, when he was satisfied, he would not rage with restlessness any more, but could settle down and give her his life into her hands.

   1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter XII, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC

   That many able men have sown wild oats is indisputable, and that many men who are respectful husbands, have also gone "through the mill" is also true, but this need not blind us to the fact that thousands upon thousands, who could have been successful men of affairs and creditable husbands and fathers, have been utterly ruined, as a result of having sown wild oats.

   1914, W. Grant Hague, The Eugenic Marriage, volume 2

   As the time of his marriage approached, he felt that he had indeed sowed wild oats, and he felt, moreover, what a good thing it would be if he could have but one wild fling more, play the good fellow and the wastrel one last time, ere he settled down to grey lecture-rooms and sober matrimony.

   1914, Jack London, “South of the Slot”, in The Strength of the Strong, New York: MacMillan