Shoe-in
Posted by R. Berg on May 06, 2008 at 17:40
In Reply to: Shoe-in posted by David Mcdowell on May 06, 2008 at 15:44:
: Where does the phrase 'shoe-in' come from, as in, he's a shoe-in to win?
This word is spelled "shoo-in." Animals are shooed into their pen, shooed out of the kitchen--wherever--with a hand gesture and the utterance "Shoo! Shoo!" "Shoo-in" comes from the idea that the predicted winner will approach the finish line so far ahead of his competitors (think of a footrace) that he can safely stand still for a moment and wait to be nudged across. ~rb
- Shoe-in RRC 06/May/08