ankle-biter

An ankle-biter is a small child, usually a toddler. It’s affectionate teasing: little kids live at ankle height, and at their worst they’re about as easy to shake off as a small, determined dog.

What ankle-biter means

Parents use it about their own kids all the time: “We’ll come, but we’re bringing the ankle-biters.” It’s fond rather than mean, with a hint of chaos built in: small, loud and always underfoot.

It has two other slang uses. A small, yappy dog that nips at your feet is an ankle-biter. And at work, an ankle-biter can be a small, irritating problem that keeps nagging at you while the big jobs wait.

Examples

• “Sorry the house is a mess, the ankle-biters got into the crayons.”
• “The neighbor’s dog is a real ankle-biter. Five pounds of pure fury.”
• “I’ve got three big tickets and a dozen ankle-biters to close this week.”

Where it came from

It’s a simple compound, ankle plus biter. Collins lists it as British slang for a child, and you’ll hear it in Australia and North America too. It belongs to a family of jokey words for small children that includes “rug rat” and “curtain climber.”

Related terms

• Jit: slang for a young kid.
• Fam: your family, or your closest friends.
• Zonked: how parents of ankle-biters feel by 9 p.m.

More throwback and old-school words are in our 90s slang guide.