_Wild Oats_ (Vol. v., p. 227.).--I think I can give a clue to the Query
of BEAU NASH respecting the origin of this phrase. In Kent, if a person
has been talking at random, it is not uncommon to hear it said, "you are
talking _havers_," or _folly_. Now I find in an old dictionary that the
word _havers_ means _oats_; and therefore I conclude, that the phrase
"to sow your wild oats" means nothing more than "to sow folly."