white-shoe

W w

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hwahyt, wahyt shoo]
- /ʰwaɪt, waɪt ʃu/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hwahyt, wahyt shoo]
- /ʰwaɪt, waɪt ʃu/

Definitions of white-shoe word

adjective white-shoe of or relating to members of the upper class who own or run large corporations: white-shoe bankers; a conservative white-shoe image. 1
adjective white-shoe designating or characteristic of a business company, esp. a law firm or brokerage, in which the partners belong almost exclusively to the white, Protestant, upper-class elite and are thought of as being conservative 0
noun white-shoe (Slang) (US) A stereotypical Ivy League student. 0
adjective white-shoe (Slang) (US) Effeminate or immature. 0
adjective white-shoe (Slang) (US) Establishment; pertaining to mainstream US social power-structures. 0

See all 5 definitions of white-shoe

Information block about the term

Origin of white-shoe

First appearance:

before 1975

One of the 1% newest English words

First recorded in 1975-80; apparently from the white shoes popular as moderately formal wear among suburban men c1980

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for White-shoe

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of White-shoe

white-shoe popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 40% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 57% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.