... what do you call it?
I was talking to my Aussie/Ozzie/Aushtryan roommate last night (although we do not actually share a room, 'housemate' just hasn't caught on - but that could be a whole nother thread), and told her one of my fears about becoming a lawyer was having to wear pumps and carry a briefcase. Apparently, Down-Under, pumps are called court shoes (which sounds to me like what you wear to play squash). Is pumps a Canadianism? Or a North Americanism? What do other people call a simple, tongue-less, high-heeled shoe, with closed or open toe? Just curious.
>What do other people call a simple, tongue-less, high-heeled shoe, with closed or open toe? Just curious.
Court shoes.
You do see the word "pumps" used in catalogues but in the part of England where I grew up, pumps are tennis shoes and where my children go to school pumps are a source of great hilarity - of the gaseous sort.
I think we got ourselves a dyed-in-the-wool North Americanism - in the US I would have exactly the same read on it as our Canadian Boronian.
So is the Aussie version from the fact that you wear such shoes when appearing in a court of law? Seems their use is likely to be a little wider than that, but maybe you folks from Up Over are just a bit more casual than I've realized.
A pump..
and while we are on the subject--
what do you call the high heeled shoes so popular today, they are almost slippers, with open toes, and a strap or two over the instep, and open backed..but definately not slippers, with a heel from 1 to almost 3 inches high.
(i really have a problem seeing these shoes being worn to work.. but i seem to be alone in that opinion.)
i would call them a mule
What do other people call a simple, tongue-less, high-heeled shoe, with closed or open toe?
A pump here has always been considered closed toe...never open toe. I don't know what to call that shoe with an open toe.
A pump here has always been considered closed toe
Yes, true here in NEW England! ; )
An open toe is an "open toed pump"
Then if there's just a strap instead of a closed heel it's
a "sling back"
The all-strap shoes are called "high heel sandals" *OR if they are very fancy "evening sandals"
At least that's the nomenclature around here.
in the part of England where I grew up, pumps are tennis shoes
- and when I were a lad, these "tennis shoes" were called "plimpsolls." I have always assumed that "pumps" is a contraction of the longer name.
Simple unintelligent tongue-less mute high-heeled dangerous weapon
- and when I were a lad, these "tennis shoes" were called "plimpsolls." And in the case of my son, 6 foot 7 inches tall, and size 15 shoes, we call the shoes...
expensive!
M-W10th says pumps--(2)[[from the Fr. colloq., pompeboot, shoe, lit. a shoe that pumps in the water! ]]a low cut shoe with out straps or ties. pumps are similar to what in the UK is a man's dress shoe,(ie, what in US is called black tie, or tux shoe) only with a heel!
how about brogues-- a gaelic word going back to the IE (see breech) the word meant leg covering, but now means a heavy work shoe, or an heavy oxford with decorative perforations and a wing tip.
ok-- why are solid lace on shoes called oxfords (why not cambridges?) and Wing tips? and what about Ghillies?
and sneakers.. ( in my youth, the sneaker of choice, hi-black cons--high black Converse (brand) basketball shoes.. made from black canvas, not really a shoe) or desert boots.. (a low,(ankle high) lace on boot, made from split skin, or suede, in a light tan color, with gum soles..
my kid's wore engineers boots and dr. martins.. i still like keds the best of any sneaker (trainer) style..
and what are the mexican shoes, the ones of woven leather, (begins with an H...the beachboys named them in one of their songs..)
we had great fun with all the names of zori/flip-flop/thongs. i am sure we all know more words for shoes than we realize.. and i wonder if we all mean the same thing.. lets find some words, (include links to commercial sites if needed to illustrate -- just so long as you don't work there, or end up shilling the shoes!)
That would be huaraches, helen. Huarache in Spanish simply means any type of sandal.
Ledasdottir alludes to the dress/black tie/tux shoe for men. You rarely see these anymore, for good reason. That's a black high-gloss (usually patent leather) shoe with a very low vamp, plain toe, and a grosgrain bow. In other words what is often called, in the U.S., a Mary Jane pump. Few men nowadays have the nerve to wear them. I, now, possess and occasionally wear with black tie, a pair of these which do not have the bow. They aren't very comfortable; the toe part only covers your toes, leaving most of your foot showing and therefore they are a little hard to keep on. Also they are pointed in the front and therefore cramp your toes.
I'd agree about the contraction of "plimsolls"
Plimsoll:
British, American and Australian sneaker, Australian also runner, Australian also sandshoe
noun [C]
a flat light shoe which has a top made of heavy cloth and a bottom made of rubber, and which is worn esp. for sports
Plimsolls may either be fastened with laces, or have a strip of elastic at the front so that they can be slipped on.}
http://dictionary.cambridge.org
yes Bob, now add a high heel, and this is a pump! now you you understand why your wife used to complain about her shoes all the time, and slip them off as soon as she sat down.. and remember she was expected to dance (backwards,no less) and look elegant in them!
actually, i always think a mary-jane has a strap across the instep (i have 2 pairs of mary-janes) and a dancing shoe, is a mary-jane with a low (high) heel-- about 1.5 inches.
my son, 6 foot 7 inches tall, and size 15 shoes,I'm curious about the common use of the singular, "foot" following a number larger than one. Most people do it, yet it seems odd to me. It sounds to me as though he were seven inches tall, but you had to buy him three pairs of shoes.
but we do it all the time.. i don't think i'd touch this idiom with a 10 foot pole, nor my 11 foot one that i keep around for things you don't want to touch with a 10 foot pole!