Toe jam

Posted by R. Berg on May 28, 2008 at 19:02

In Reply to: Toe jams posted by Smokey Stover on May 28, 2008 at 15:48:

: : Where did the phrase "toe jams" come from? I know what it means.

: If you know what toe jam means, I needn't tell you that it is the dirt that collects between your toes, and can develop an unpleasant odor. But some others may be curious.

: The Oxford English Dictionary cites, as its earliest example, a quotation from 1934, by Roy Campbell, s South African poet who lived extensively in England, in a book of memoirs ("Broken Record").

Between toes? I understood "toe jam" as the dirt, plus sloughed-off skin cells and whatever else is there, that collects under the edges of toenails. Dirt between toes is easily washed off. That other stuff is more persistent. ~rb

• Toe jam Smokey Stover 28/May/08
  • Toe jam ESC 28/May/08