Born Yesterday

Pronunciation: /bɔrn ˈjɛstərˌdeɪ/

Definitions of born yesterday

adjective describing someone who is naive or inexperienced

Example Sentences

A1 She's not stupid, she wasn't born yesterday.

A2 I may be new to this job, but I wasn't born yesterday.

B1 Don't try to fool me with that excuse, I wasn't born yesterday.

B2 He may act naive, but he wasn't born yesterday and knows what's going on.

C1 Despite his friendly demeanor, he's not easily fooled - he wasn't born yesterday.

C2 The experienced detective wasn't born yesterday and could see through the suspect's lies.

adverb modifying the verb 'born', indicating when the person was born

Example Sentences

A1 She is not stupid, she wasn't born yesterday.

A2 I may be new to this job, but I wasn't born yesterday.

B1 Don't try to fool me, I wasn't born yesterday.

B2 I can see through your lies, I wasn't born yesterday.

C1 His keen observation skills make it clear that he wasn't born yesterday.

C2 With his vast experience, he can easily detect deception as if he wasn't born yesterday.

Examples of born yesterday in a Sentence

formal She may be young, but she was not born yesterday when it comes to business negotiations.

informal Don't try to fool me with that excuse, I wasn't born yesterday.

slang I may look naive, but I wasn't born yesterday, I know what's going on.

figurative His experience in the field shows that he wasn't born yesterday when it comes to dealing with difficult situations.

Grammatical Forms of born yesterday

• past tense: was born
• plural: born yesterday
• comparative: more born yesterday
• superlative: most born yesterday
• present tense: is born yesterday
• future tense: will be born yesterday
• perfect tense: has been born yesterday
• continuous tense: is being born yesterday
• singular: born yesterday
• positive degree: born yesterday
• infinitive: to be born yesterday
• gerund: being born yesterday
• participle: born yesterday

Origin and Evolution of born yesterday

First Known Use: 1601 year

Language of Origin: English

Story behind the word: The phrase 'born yesterday' comes from the idea that someone who is naive or gullible must have been born very recently, and therefore lacks experience and knowledge.

Evolution of the word: Originally used in a literal sense to refer to someone who was actually born recently, the phrase evolved over time to take on a figurative meaning of someone who is inexperienced or easily fooled.