# sweet summer child

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/sweet-summer-child
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Someone who is naive, or who has never experienced hardship.

## Examples

- You think the boss will give you a raise? You sweet summer child.
- You are a sweet summer child if you think this old car is reliable.
- The new intern expects to finish all this work by lunch, but he is a sweet summer child.
- She believes that the landlord will return her full deposit without a fight, like a true sweet summer child.
- My cousin is such a sweet summer child for thinking that the beach will be empty on a sunny holiday weekend.
- Watching the young idealist believe the political system would change overnight, the veteran activist could only smile at the sweet summer child.

## Origin

As an idiomatic phrase, apparently from the fantasy novel A Game of Thrones (1996) by George R. R. Martin, although isolated occurrences go back to the 1800s. In the novel, a young boy is called a "sweet summer child" by an old woman, since seasons last for years in the novel's world and he has yet to experience winter. Later popularized by its use in the episode "Lord Snow" (2011) of the television adaptation Game of Thrones. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.