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Glite Dictionary
soft-shoe shuffle

soft-shoe shuffle

7.5
A smooth, gentle tap dance that uses soft-soled shoes
  • noun
  • /ˈsɔftˌʃuː ˈʃʌfəl/
  • US
translation icon : shuffle suave
  • The old movie star performed a graceful soft-shoe shuffle for the delighted audience.

Examples

  • The comedian ended his act with a classic soft-shoe shuffle across the stage.

  • He learned the soft-shoe shuffle as part of his tap dance training.

  • The dancer performed a beautiful soft-shoe shuffle.

  • Can you teach me the soft-shoe shuffle?

  • The dancer impressed the audience with her elegant soft-shoe shuffle during the performance.

  • He practiced his soft-shoe shuffle every day to refine his technique for the upcoming show.

  • During the jazz festival, many performers showcased their skills with a lively soft-shoe shuffle.

Synonyms

soft-shoe
vssoft-shoe shuffle
1 7.0

A style of dance with smooth, light steps done while wearing soft, quiet shoes

focuses more on smooth, gliding movement and very subtle footwork
soft-shoe dancing
vssoft-shoe shuffle
  • US
6.6

A smooth, graceful tap dance done in shoes with soft soles

highlights gliding motion and subtle footwork rather than general grace

How Loud

shuffle
11 3.9
soft-shoe shuffle
  • US
7.5

Surface Forms

soft-shoe shuffle singular
soft-shoe shuffles plural

Morphology

soft-shoe + shuffle

The meaning can be directly inferred from the constituents: 'soft' + 'shoe' suggests shoes with a soft sole or a soft-shoe dance style, and 'shuffle' denotes a dragging/step-based movement, so together they describe a gentle shuffle dance. This follows normal English compounding and verb/noun composition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the component words would likely understand the MWE.

Etymology

Soft-shoe shuffle comes from old stage dancing where dancers wore soft-shoe, meaning soft-soled shoes, and used a light shuffle step that slides instead of loud taps. That's why it now refers to 'a gentle, smooth kind of tap dance'.