four sizes too small

[whocanhelpme]

his feet were agony in shoes four sizes too
small.

What is "four sizes too small" meaning? .

Thank you a lot.

 

[Barb_D]

If your shoe size is 11, and you are wearing shoes that are size 7, they are four sizes too small.

I can't even imagine getting your feet to fit into shoes that small. One or two sizes, yes, and very uncomfortable, but four sizes? My feet wouldn't fit into the shoes at all.

 

[Grumpy]

Shoes are generally sold in different sizes, designated by numbers. In the UK, and the US, men's shoe sizes run from around size 5 (for very small feet) to size 13 or so (for very large feet). A size 10 shoe fits my feet comfortably. A size 9 shoe would be one size too small (ten minus nine), and so on down to a size 6 shoe, which would certainly be (ten minus six) four sizes too small for me.

 

[whocanhelpme]

Thank you very much.
so "...SIZES TOO SMALL" is an idiom?. Can I say "... SIZES TOO BIG" vice versa?.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's not an idiom at all. It's just how we describe the difference between two sizes in the context of shoe sizes. Yes, he could have been wearing shoes that were four sizes too big.

 

[whocanhelpme]

Dear, Teacher.
Does it have a structure?, I'm unfamiliar with it.

 

[emsr2d2]

His feet were in agony in shoes four sizes too small.

What [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] does "four sizes too small" mean?[STRIKE]ing? . [/STRIKE]

Thank you very much/Thanks a lot.

Thank you very much.
So is "... SIZES TOO SMALL" [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] an idiom? Can I say "... SIZES TOO BIG"? [STRIKE]vice versa?.[/STRIKE] (We don't put a full stop after a question mark.)

Dear (no comma here) teacher.
Does it have a structure? (No comma here) I'm unfamiliar with it.

Please see my corrections to your three posts in this thread. Remember to follow these rules of written English:

- Start every sentence with a capital letter.
- End every sentence with a single, appropriate punctuation mark.
- Always capitalise the word "I".
- Do not put a space before a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
- Always put a space after a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

We say "Thank you very much", "Thanks very much" or "Thanks a lot". We don't say "Thank you a lot".

Are you asking us to analyse "four sizes too big" for you?

 

[whocanhelpme]

Thank you very much. I'm very glad when you help me check my errors. I'm very bad in writing.
You are so kind and beautiful. Yes, please help me.

 

[emsr2d2]

You've never seen me. How do you know I'm beautiful?

 

[whocanhelpme]

I see your beautiful soul. For me, who is kind, he is beautiful. I don't know the way to write well. I very hate myself for this. Please help me, teacher.

 

[Jill Dorchester]

Dear, Teacher.
Does it have a structure?, I'm unfamiliar with it.

When shopping for shoes, "size" refers to the overall fit of the shoe - how big or small it is (both in length and in width). So the word "size" is used in all sorts of ways when discussing shoes....

Sales person (physically squeezing the shoe on the foot of the customer): "This feels a little tight, you might want to go up a size." (Meaning buy a shoe one size larger; instead of a 6, buy a 7.)
Customer: "But I've always worn a six. I don't want my shoes to be too big...."
Sales person: "With this particular brand of shoe, the sizes run a little small." (Meaning that even if it is marked a Size 6, it might have been manufactured by some company that has had problems in the past with their shoe sizes being a few millimeters too short or narrow.)

 

[probus]

"Four sizes too small" is clearly an example of hyperbole, q.v.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Four sizes too small" is clearly an example of hyperbole, q.v.

I agree that it is very unlikely that anyone would actually be able to fit their feet into a pair of shoes that are four sizes too small and, therefore, in the example sentence given, it was probably an exaggeration. However, that doesn't mean that the phrase is hyperbole every time it's used. If I ask a shoe shop assistant to bring me a pair of shoes in a size 6 and s/he comes back from the stock room with the shoes in a size 2, I can quite truthfully say "Those are four sizes too small". That's not hyperbole.