Shoe-in

Posted by R. Berg on May 06, 2008 at 17:40

In Reply to: Shoe-in posted by David Mcdowell on May 06, 2008 at 15:44:

: Where does the phrase 'shoe-in' come from, as in, he's a shoe-in to win?

This word is spelled "shoo-in." Animals are shooed into their pen, shooed out of the kitchen--wherever--with a hand gesture and the utterance "Shoo! Shoo!" "Shoo-in" comes from the idea that the predicted winner will approach the finish line so far ahead of his competitors (think of a footrace) that he can safely stand still for a moment and wait to be nudged across. ~rb

• Shoe-in RRC 06/May/08