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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Never Saw Me Coming
by Vera Kurian
"Fun, entertaining and hard to put down."
—The New York Journal of Books
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by Maureen Gibbon
A sensual portrait of Manet's last years, and a vibrant testament of the artistic spirit.
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
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