the.com/brogue
shoes that punched holes in themselves and somehow became fancy
means A sturdy leather shoe decorated with patterns of small punched holes, or alternatively a strong regional accent, especially an Irish or Scottish one.
from From the Irish and Scottish Gaelic 'bróg,' meaning shoe, itself from Old Norse 'brók' — a cousin of the English 'breeches.' The original brogues were rough rawhide shoes worn in the Scottish Highlands and Irish bogs; the holes weren't decorative at all but practical, letting water drain out as you slogged through wet ground. The accent sense is murkier: the popular story says it meant speaking English 'with a shoe on the tongue,' a thick Gaelic-flavored speech — but that may be folk reasoning, and the link between the footwear and the voice remains genuinely uncertain.
- origin holes
- perforations once drained bog water from Irish feet
- name roots
- from Gaelic bróg, meaning simply shoe
- second meaning
- also the thick Irish or Scottish accent
- social ladder
- climbed from rough farm wear to boardroom polish
- wingtip cousin
- the W-shaped toe cap is pure brogue signature
irish brogue — distinctive accent of ireland with rolled r's and specific vowel patterns, spoken by millions across the island
brogue shoe — perforated leather oxford originating in scotland/ireland, characterized by decorative holes in a specific pattern