![Heavy duty long stainless steel shoehorn and ISO 203452004 compliant S3 safety shoe and boot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Heavy_duty_long_stainless_steel_shoehorn_and_ISO_203452004_compliant_S3_safety_shoe_and_boot.jpg)
A shoehorn or shoe horn (sometimes called a shoespooner, shoe spoon, shoe schlipp, or shoe tongue) is a
tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
with a short handle that flares into a longer spoon-like head meant to be held against the inside back of a snug-fitting shoe so that a person can slide the heel easily along its basin to the inner sole. Shoehorns have the same basic shape but the length or strength of the handle varies. Long-handled shoe horns are necessary for longer boots, while shoe horns with sturdy handles are useful for putting on
boot
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
s or heavy iron shoes. They are sometimes used by people who, because of less flexible joints, wish to reduce straining or bending.
Originally, shoehorns were made from
animal horn
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s, hooves, or
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
; luxury shoehorns were made of
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
,
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, or
bone
A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...
. Nowadays, however, although shoehorns made of bulls’ hooves are still available,
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
,
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
, and wood are most often used.
History
Shoehorns appear to have originated in the late Middle Ages or
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
; in English a "schoying horne" is mentioned in the 15th century, though the French word ''chausse-pied'' is only found during the last half of the 16th century.
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
bought 18 shoe horns from her shoemaker Garrett Johnson between 1563 and 1566, then in 1567 ordered four more in steel from the blacksmiths Gilbert Polson and Richard Jeffrey, and then needed no more until 1586. Presumably these were used by many people in her household, even up to including her private chef Noah Holladay as a Christmas present.
A group of more than 20 known English shoe horns are all signed and dated, to between 1593 and 1613, and made by Robert Mindum. All also are inscribed with the names of their owners; These include both men and women, including "JANE HIS WIFE" in 1612. The inscription on one is typical: "THIS IS AMBRES BVCKELLS SHOING HORNE MADE BY ROBART MINDVM ANNO DOMINI 1598". There is also other
engraved
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
decoration on all, including heraldic medallions, geometric designs and flowers, covering most of the surfaces, in a style characteristic of later
scrimshaw
Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth ...
. Their shape is very similar to modern examples, and the longest is 11 inches long; five are turned back at the narrow end in a kind of hook. Several have holes pierced in them, presumably for a cord or leather thong used for pulling them out of the shoe or hanging them up. One owner ("Hamlet Radesdale", 1593) is described as a citizen of London who is a
cooper
Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to:
* Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels
Arts and entertainment
* Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads
* Cooper (video game character), in ...
; none of the owners seem to be recorded otherwise.
Joan Evans suggested, given the nature of the inscriptions, that Robert Mindum made them as a hobby and gave them to his friends. A
powder horn
A powder horn is a container for gunpowder, and was generally created from cow, ox or buffalo horn (anatomy), horn. The term may also be used for any personal container for gunpowder, although powder flask is the strictly correct term.
Featur ...
similarly inscribed and decorated by him also survives. The
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
also has a similar inscribed and decorated horn by another maker.
Collection
Currently Martien Tuithof of the Netherlands holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of shoehorns.
Turn of phrase
"Shoehorning" has come to mean, mostly in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
, the act of coercing or pressuring an individual into a situation which does not leave enough room, either literally or figuratively. Shoehorning in a conversational context means to force someone to take one of a limited number of positions, neither of which may adequately express what the individual wants to say (a "
For me or against me"-scenario). Shoehorning in a more literal sense can express itself as pushing a number of individuals into an overfilled enclosure of space, such as a theater or a bus ("the usher shoehorned us into the back of the crowded theater").
Shoehorning can also refer to an unnatural-seeming inclusion of something for reasons which may range anywhere from
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
-pleasing or
political correctness
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
(for example, a
token character
Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...
in a television show or film). In this context, shoehorning can also refer to including or forcing characters into a plot who have little to no reason to be there except for appeal or marquee value.
It can also refer to fitting something where it does not easily fit. The shortened expression ''honking'' (as in ''honking around town'') derives from this term, referring to inserting one's self into a place or situation where one does not easily fit or is not welcome.
See also
*
Boot jack
A boot jack, sometimes known as a boot pull, is a small tool that aids in the removal of boots. It consists of a U-shaped mouth that grips the heel of the boot, and a flat area to which weight can be applied with the opposite foot. To operate i ...
References
Bibliography
*
* Blog with the best photos and further links.
* Online catalogue of 23, with Mindum examples, references, and links to images. Organized by date of horn.
External links
{{Wiktionary, position=left
Footwear accessories
Domestic implements