Thursday, July 9, 2009

Goodie Two Shoes

The expression "goodie two shoes" has always perplexed me. I know that "goodie two shoes" is considered somewhat of an insult or derogatory phrase, but I don't really know why. Does it have to do with someone wearing two shoes? If that is the case, the vast majority of people would be considered "goodie two shoes". Does it imply that the person doing the name calling is wearing only 1 shoe? Again, there would be very few people qualified to use the insult if it required the name caller to be wearing only 1 shoe. Logic would state that if your footwear was of high quality, people would have little to criticize, much less make up a playground taunt about it. If anything at all the insult should be "baddie one shoe".
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. Kent Owens, D.C.July 10, 2009 at 9:07 AM

    Wikipedia knows:

    The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes is a children's story by an anonymous author, published in 1765. The story popularized the phrase "goody two-shoes", often used to describe an excessively or annoyingly virtuous person. In more recent years, the phrase has developed a more negative connotation, implying that the virtuousness of a "goody two-shoes" is insincere.


    I agree 100%. Why do we continue to use really stupid and outdated phrases. I mean, enough is enough, right? Wait, what?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robert HruzekJuly 10, 2009 at 10:05 AM

    Always knew you were destined for great things, Josh. I just didn't think it would be, er, this! :-D Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! (Sorry!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJuly 10, 2009 at 6:54 PM

    I think Kent if off base with the history---- I think the expression arose during the Great Depression when people were so happy they had two shoes and overjoyed if they matched and declared: "Goody, two shoes"!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)