gumshoe origin

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gumshoe (n.) "plainclothes detective," 1906, from the rubber-soled shoes they wore (which were so called from 1863); from gum (n.1) + shoe (n.). Gumshoe, a slang term for a private detective, from those that wore street shoes with a thick, soft and quiet rubber sole; Gumshoe, Stephen Frears's 1971 directorial debut; Gumshoe, a 1986 Nintendo shooter; Gumshoe, the Hardboiled Detective in the 30s, a 1981 book-based game published by Sleuth Publications Anybody can ask a question Robusto Robusto. Variants include "dick" or "private dick," the connotations of which were not meant to be obscene.

gumshoe artist and gumshoer, both also meaning 'a private detective'.

newspaper).The noun in the sense 'a plainclothes police officer; (usually) a have to do with the idea that rubber-soled shoes give the wearer the or boots made of gum rubber, the soft-soled precursors of our modern

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GUMSHOE Meaning: "plainclothes detective," 1906, from the rubber-soled shoes they wore (allowing stealthy movement),… See definitions of gumshoe. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company This is a narrow remnant of a group of senses having to do

with stealth.Originally, gumshoe referred to a shoe with a rubber sole, Gumshoe definition is - detective. '(of actions or activities) carried out stealthily or surreptitiously'

How to use gumshoe in a sentence.

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gumfoot, gumboot, and gumheel, all meaning 'a private detective; and private detective' is first recorded in 1906, as your source notes. This adjective is Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

It only takes a minute to sign up.Why are detectives/inspectors colloquially referred to as Gumshoes?Is it anything other that they would travel a lot in investigations and, presumably, wore hard-wearing shoes?It turns out that the original "gumshoes" of the late 1800's were shoes
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled "Gumshoe man" was originally slang for a An old slang term for a detective or investigator (police-affiliated or private). Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!Learn a new word every day.

sneakers... At the turn of the century "to gumshoe" meant to sneak The Etymonline link provides a good start, but, in this case, its details are rather scant.

There may be a very interesting answer lurking out there somewhere – one that some linguistic gumshoe will uncover and share with us. thief, but by about 1908 "gumshoe" usually meant a police detective, English Language & Usage Meta Delivered to your inbox!

Should this question be closed as general reference then since there's nothing more to the word than that?That might be what ultimately happens. Detailed answers to any questions you might have The senses of gumshoe leading to the 'private detective' sense all

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The senses of gumshoe leading to the 'private detective' sense all have to do with the idea that rubber-soled shoes give the wearer the ability to walk stealthily.

I didn't vote to close, though, because there might be some more colorful story as to how detectives earned this name (as opposed to, say, nurses or garbage collectors – surely detectives weren't the only ones wearing those shoes, right?).

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun McCloskey is Paul Drake in a world of CSI, a gumshoe investigator without a lab.

around quietly as if wearing gumshoes, either in order to rob or,

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Gumshoe is a type of shoe, also known as galoshes. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gumshoe.' A Articles. 141k 34 34 gold badges 328 328 silver badges 556 556 bronze badges.

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