congress shoe
- noun
- Archaic
:
zapato de congreso
- With its elastic sides, the congress shoe is both stylish and convenient.
Examples
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He slipped on his congress shoes before leaving for the meeting.
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The classic design of the congress shoe became popular in the 19th century.
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I bought a new pair of congress shoes yesterday.
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The congress shoe is perfect for casual outings.
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He slipped on his congress shoes before leaving for the meeting.
-
The classic design of the congress shoe became popular in the 19th century.
-
With its elastic sides, the congress shoe is both stylish and convenient.
Synonyms
An ankle-high shoe with elastic sides, worn in the 1800s and early 1900s
An ankle-high boot with elastic sides often worn in the 1800s
How Comfortable
Surface Forms
Morphology
congress + shoe
The compound uses 'congress' (a low-frequency/unknown form here) plus 'shoe', but the common meaning of 'congress' (an assembly/meeting) does not relate to footwear, so a learner who knows the parts would not infer 'ankle-high shoe with elastic gussets'. This is a lexicalized style name/jargon item whose specific sense is arbitrary relative to its constituents and therefore not predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun congress shoe may come from the idea of congress meaning 'to come together': the elastic sides let the two parts of the shoe come together so you can quickly slip it on. That's why congress shoe means an ankle-high shoe with elastic sides that is 'easy to slip on and off'.