To be short, usually in the context of also being young.
The first known recording of this expression was in the USA in 1814 as knee-high to a toad. Other forms include frog, bumblebee, splinter, mosquito, jackrabbit and, of course, grasshopper which can be found in The Democratic Review in 1851:
"You pretend to be my daddies; some of you who are not knee-high to a grasshopper!
Alphabetical list of expressions
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Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty.
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Happiness
by Heather Harpham
A love story that follows a one-of-a-kind family through twists of fate that require nearly unimaginable choices.
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Hame by Annalena McAfee
A rich, sultry novel about a young American fleeing a crumbling marriage for a remote Scottish island.
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