shoe trees

Status
Not open for further replies.

Tinkerbell

Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
Nice to see where I got my snarkiness. Of course, that seemed to be all I’d gotten from him. I’d seen pictures of him before, but this was the first time I’d seen him in person, and I was having a hard time not staring. He was so different from what I expected. He was definitely handsome, but . . . I don’t know. In a fussy way. He looked like the kind of guy who had a lot of shoe trees.

shoe trees??
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Nice to see where I got my snarkiness. Of course, that seemed to be all I’d gotten from him. I’d seen pictures of him before, but this was the first time I’d seen him in person, and I was having a hard time not staring. He was so different from what I expected. He was definitely handsome, but . . . I don’t know. In a fussy way. He looked like the kind of guy who had a lot of shoe trees.

shoe trees??

A shoe tree is like this: Google Images
 

Tinkerbell

Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
Does she mean that he seems a guy who uses shoe trees in his shoes? Isnt there a metaphor?
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Does she mean that he seems a guy who uses shoe trees in his shoes? Isnt there a metaphor?

No, it isn't a metaphor. I suppose the writer is suggesting that he is a fussy, fastidious sort of person.
 

Tullia

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Does she mean that he seems a guy who uses shoe trees in his shoes? Isnt there a metaphor?

She really means that - but of course, not many men *do* use shoe trees, and so she is perhaps using it to stand for something more: he is the kind of man who is (over)interested in his own appearance, or who is very fussy, unusually neat and tidy - one could get a lot of ideas about what someone is like just from knowing the fact they had a pair of shoe trees from every shoe!
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
:?: Isn't that exactly what it is? Using shoe-trees is a metaphor for fussiness.

b

Yes, you are right, it is. I was thinking of a known metaphor (known to me that is).
 

Ouisch

Key Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Even though the use shoe trees is a logical way of keeping expensive shoes in good shape (for example, they keep the shoe in the same position as when it's on the foot while it's not being worn, thereby keeping the sole from "bowing" or the leather from creasing), I still picture only old men like my Dad using them! :lol:

I think what the writer in the OP is saying is that a man who has a lot of shoe trees at home (one pair for each pair of shoes) is also the type of man who, for example, organizes his canned goods in alphabetical order on the shelves of his pantry. ;-)
 

calypsovoice

Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
In other words, he's one fussy and scrupulous fellow;-)
And, maybe, even a little bit obsessed about some routines...
 

Ouisch

Key Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top