English · Proverb Candidate

to sow one's wild oats. (16th century)

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

to engage in reckless and promiscuous behavior, typically when young

Literally: to sow wild oats

Examples

He spent his early twenties sowing his wild oats before settling down

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.

Topics: Pigs

Common questions

What does “to sow one's wild oats. (16th century)” mean?

to engage in reckless and promiscuous behavior, typically when young Literally: to sow wild oats

Is “to sow one's wild oats. (16th century)” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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