Woods

a babe in the woods (American & Australian)

someone who has not had much experience of life and trusts other people too easily. When it comes to dealing with men, she's a babe in the woods.

See also: babe

not be out of the wood/woods

to continue having difficulties although a situation has improved. Financially, things are looking distinctly more hopeful, but we're not out of the woods yet.

See also: wood

neck of the woods (informal)

area of the country. I'm surprised to see you in this neck of the woods. What brings you here? There's no scenery like this in your neck of the woods, is there?

See also: neck

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a babe in the woods

someone who has not had much experience in life. A few of the players were just babes in the woods, fresh out of high school.

See also: babe

your neck of the woods

the area you come from or where you now live. If you're in our neck of the woods, we hope you'll come see us.

Usage notes: often used in the form this neck of the woods: It was a pretty small farm for this neck of the woods.

See also: neck

not out of the woods

1. slightly better but not yet well. The operation went fine, but she's not out of the woods yet – the next 24 hours will tell us whether or not she'll recover.

Usage notes: said about someone's health

2. improving but not yet good. Our sales went up last month, but the company is not out of the woods yet.

Usage notes: said about financial problems and sometimes used in the form out of the woods in good condition: If we continue to watch our expenses, we should be out of the woods in a month.