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Clodhoppers

Amber from Charlotte, North Carolina, wonders why big, heavy shoes are called clodhoppers. Originally, clodhopper was an insulting term aimed at rustics or rubes, a reference to farmers who must literally step over clods of dirt to do with work. It may be related to the word clog. The word clod in some UK English dialects means “miner’s shoes,” a term that likely comes from clog, a sturdy work shoe, and is related to klutz, or “blockhead,” which comes to English via Yiddish from German for “a block of wood.” This is part of a complete episode.

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