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plompy shoe

plompy shoe

9.1
A shoe that looks large, heavy, and clumsy
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : zapato torpe
  • Those plompy shoes didn't match her delicate dress at the wedding.

Examples

  • She decided not to wear her plompy shoe to the interview for a more professional look.

  • After spraining his ankle, he found even his plompy shoe uncomfortable to walk in.

  • He wore a plompy shoe to the party.

  • Those plompy shoes are not very fashionable.

  • She chose a pair of plompy shoes for the hiking trip because they provide great support.

  • The plompy shoe looked out of place at the elegant dinner party due to its heavy design.

  • He always wears his plompy shoes when he wants to feel comfortable at home.

How Bulky

work shoe
2 2.7
plompy shoe
  • Informal
9.1
trainer
  • UK
12 1.0
flats
2.6

Surface Forms

plompy shoe singular
plompy shoes plural

Morphology

plompy + shoe

Although 'plompy' is nonstandard and not attested in major dictionaries, the phrase is a simple adjective + noun combination; if a B1 learner knows the adjective meaning (bulky/heavy/clumsy) and 'shoe', the compound meaning 'a shoe that is bulky or clumsy in appearance' is directly derivable. The compositional pattern (adjective modifying a noun) is cross-linguistically common, making the expression predictable rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Plompy shoe may come from the heavy sound 'plomp' a large shoe makes when it hits the ground. The word plompy suggests that dull, heavy step, so plompy shoe is used for something that looks or feels 'bulky', 'heavy', or 'clumsy'.