fresh off the boat
English
Adjective
fresh off the boat
- (idiomatic, usually derogatory) Newly arrived from a foreign place, especially as an immigrant who is still unfamiliar with the customs and language of his or her new environment.
- Synonym: FOB (abbreviation)
- 1998, Ani DiFranco (lyrics), “Two Little Girls”, in Little Plastic Castle, performed by Ani DiFranco:
- You were fresh off the boat from Virginia / I had a year in New York City under my belt / We met in a dream, we were both nineteen
- 2005, Lev Grossman, "They Built This City (book review)," Time, 20 Mar.:
- Metropolis is the story of a harmless, hapless, nameless young German immigrant, fresh off the boat in 1860-something, who has a knack for naively stumbling into complicated plots through no fault of his own.
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