Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a child, a youngster.

1672		J. Phillips Maronides (1678) V 103: So these young sprouts of Troy renown’d / Sometimes their Horses turning round.
1683		London Jilt pt 1 75: You young Sprouts, who will undoubtedly read my Life with more diligence than you have for a Godly Book [etc].
1724		A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) II 192: I’m but a young farmer, its true, And ye are the sprout of a laird; But I have milk-cattle enow, And roth good rucks in my yard.
1815		Morn. Post (London) 11 Aug. 3/4: Sprouts of Saville, of Fox [...] Pitt, father and son.
1827		P. Cunningham New South Wales II 63: Numbers of our young Currency sprouts, in their motley equipments, jingling out the various rhymes.
1850		G.G. Foster Clelio 96: [heading] A Peep Behind the Scenes, and an Introduction to one of the Young Sprouts of New York Aristocracy.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 108/1: The parents [...] never objected to their sprout showing himself handy in looking after the main chance.
1907		W.M. Raine Bucky O’Connor (1910) 121: Bucky had too much horse sense to resent the careless, half-indifferent greeting which these two young sprouts of aristocracy bestowed on the rest of the party.
1918		‘A-No. 1’ Mother of the Hoboes 56: More especially for the younger sprouts of the Clancy family.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 22: The two Sprouts were kept under Glass.
1932		J. Dixon Free To Love 80: Not the Caldwell [...] That’s father. I’m only one of the sprouts.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 68: Thronging with sprouts who should have been in bed for hours.
1953		T. Runyon In For Life 180: I [...] asked her to kiss the sprout for me.
1969		C. Himes Blind Man with a Pistol (1971) 134: Let’s leave them [i.e. a circus act] to the sprouts and let’s finish with this.
1971		L. Bangs in Psychotic Reactions (1988) 59: Being the uncommonly aware young sprout that I was.
1999		J. Baker Walking With Ghosts (2000) 292: Don’t be a sprout.
2004		(con. 1960s-70s) T. Taylor Top Fellas 10/1: We weremere sprouts [...] knew next to nothing.