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Back when I was in college in the Northeast, 'white shoe' was a common term for very preppie WASP male students who always wore white (well, dirty white) buck shoes.
Last edited by JCS; 01/25/08 04:08 AM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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["[John] Street's problem was that, unlike the white-shoe lawyers and sleek inside players who'd mastered this game, his people were new the the trough."
Chris Satullo; Not a Crook, But Still a Failure; Philadelphia Inquirer(Pennsylvania); Jan 5, 2008.]
Yes that's quite ironic. White shoes show dirt more easy. Specially when the one who wears them gets too close to the through.
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>Specially when the one who wears them gets too close to the through.
Do you mean "trough" or am I missing something?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I believe she meant "trough" but she'd be the one to confirm that.
Meanwhile, in the Navy we had the term "brown shoe" to refer to aviation ratings or officers, also called "airedales." There was no particular reason that I knew of. Chiefs and officers of all ratings and specialties wore brown shoes.
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Carpal Tunnel
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The quote is from one of the words of the week. "white shoe".
I see the 'trough' in this context as the place where people come do there scheming and grabbing and can ( but not necessarily so) get their hands or "whites shoes" dirty.
To complete:5.Trough:A container (usually in a barn or stable) from which cattle or horses feed.
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Carpal Tunnel
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I believe Hydra's confusion was due to your spelling trough "through." English is a real pain, I know.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks, yes that's a typo he might have taken for intentional.
Sorry Hydra, typo! (too late for correction)
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stranger
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White shoes are for summer wear only [with straw hats in olden times]. There is another color connected to this same set of players all year round,"blue-stocking." Where did that come from? I can guess, of course, but the hope is that someone out there has something more specific than a conjecture.
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Online Etymology bluestocking
1790, derisive word for a woman considered too learned, traces to a London literary salon founded c.1750 by Elizabeth Montagu on the Parisian model, featuring intellectual discussion instead of card games, and in place of ostentatious evening attire, simple dress, including Benjamin Stillingfleet's blue-gray tradesman's hose in place of gentleman's black silk, hence the term, first applied in derision to the whole set by Admiral Boscawen. None of the ladies wore blue stockings. Borrowed by the neighbors in loan-translations, cf. Fr. bas-bleu, Du. blauwkous, Ger. Blaustrumpf.
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