different between greenhorn vs greenie

English

Etymology

Unconfirmed. Hypotheses include:

• Middle English grene horne, the horn of a newly slaughtered animal
• From the reference to an animal with green (that is, young) horns
• From 17th-century jewellery manufacturing, which used decorated horn impressed at a specific temperature. If heated too high (a common mistake by apprentices), the horn turned green.
• From a misappropriation of the German expression "grün hinter den Ohren" (to be green behind the ears).

Noun

greenhorn (plural greenhorns)

1. (chiefly US) an inexperienced person; a novice, beginner or newcomer

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:beginner

Derived terms

• greenhornism

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• greeny

Etymology

From green +? -ie.

Pronunciation

Noun

greenie (plural greenies)

1. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand, slang, often derogatory) An environmentalist; someone who shows concern for the environment.
   • 2000, Australian Association for Environmental Education, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Volumes 15-17, page 73,

     People ask me if am I a greenie and I go, ‘No, not in the sense that I chain myself to trees, no I?m not. But in the sense that I am concerned about the environment and do my little bit to help, then yes I am.’

   • 2009, Sean Dooley, Cooking With Baz, Large Print 16pt Edition, page 25,

     ‘And whadda you want?’ the barman spat at me.

     Above his head was a large sign that read ‘Fertilize the Bush – Doze in a Greenie’. I was dressed in a flannelette shirt and army trousers – exactly like the Greenie protestors they?d been battling the previous year.

   Synonym: tree hugger

2. (Australian politics, informal, by extension) A member of the Green Party.
3. (US, Wyoming, derogatory, slang) A person from Colorado; after the color of the Colorado license plate.
   • 2007, James Prosek, Joseph Furia, Steven Hayhurst, Joseph Kingsbery, Tight Lines: Ten Years of the Yale Anglers? Journal, page 140,

     At Alcova, the problem is compounded for the fool or fools when they have greenie license plates and behave like tourists. The growing combative presence in their rear is chalk full of true Wyoming grit.

4. (informal) An unripe fruit.
5. (US, slang) A beginner, a novice; a greenhorn.
   • 1981, William Albert Wilson, On Being Human: The Folklore of Mormon Missionaries, Volumes 60-66, page 9,

     In California a senior companion offered to demonstrate to his new greenie how he succeeded in placing Books of Mormon in people?s houses. The two of them knocked on a door. A woman answered, and the senior companion threw a book past her into the house and then ran, leaving the greenie to stammer out an explanation to the irate woman.

   Synonyms: greenhorn, tyro

6. (informal) A small, green object.
   1. (slang) A blob of nasal mucus; a bogey.
   2. (US, slang) A tablet of amphetamine.
      • 2010, Aaron Skirboll, The Pittsburgh Cocaine Seven: How a Ragtag Group of Fans Took the Fall for Major League Baseball, page 36,

        Feeling down? Pop a greenie. Had a rough night? Pop a greenie. Long road trip? Double header? Need a base hit? The answer for it all was the same: pop a greenie.

        “Greenies were what everyone was doing,” Koch says.

7. (informal) Any of various birds having predominantly green plumage.
   1. The green-headed sunbird, Cyanomitra verticalis, of Africa.
   2. The scaly-breasted lorikeet, Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus, of Australia.
   3. The white-plumed honeyeater, Ptilotula penicillata, of Australia.
8. (informal) The Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum), a herring-like fish in the family Clupeidae.
9. (informal) The yellowtail rockfish (Sebastes flavidus), a fish in the family Sebastidae.

   Coordinate term: brownie

See also

• greeny