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Glite Dictionary
shoeshine

shoeshine

11 2.6
Cleaning and polishing shoes to make them shine
  • noun
  • /ˈʃuːʃaɪn/
: lustrado
  • On benches at the edge of the zócalo sat cobblers, shoeshine boys, and cigarette peddlers.
  • shoeshine boy

One of those guys said is when shoeshine boys are giving you tax, I mean stock tips, time to get out.

Examples

  • After a long day, I enjoyed a refreshing shoeshine that made my shoes look brand new.

  • - So the shoeshine business has been real good lately, huh?

    A Home of Our Own (1993)

  • I was working across the street at the shoeshine parlor.

    BlacKkKlansman (2018)

  • "I kneeled down in front of her shoeshine box, and she opened the can of brown polish for me.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • No, I've got to get a shave and a shoeshine.

    Double Indemnity (1944)

  • You can't sit at Cafe Horaya for more than five minutes before a shoeshine man carrying a wooden box full of polish and brushes tries to solicit business.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The shoeshine I received at the station left my shoes so shiny that I could see my reflection.

  • Every Saturday, he took his favorite pair of shoes for a shoeshine at the local parlor.

Synonyms

polishing
vsshoeshine
10 2.1

The act of making a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing it

refers specifically to cleaning and brightening footwear and also names the glossy finish

Antonyms

dirty
446 1.0

Not clean or covered with dirt

unclean
13 1.3

Dirty and covered in dust, food, or grease

How Shiny

shoeshine
11 2.6
shoe polish
9 2.0

Surface Forms

shoeshine singular
shoeshines plural

Morphology

shoeshine = shoe + shine (transparent) = shoe + shine

The meaning (the act of polishing shoes or the resulting gloss) is directly derived from 'shoe' + 'shine' and is obvious to learners.

Etymology

Shoeshine is a simple compound of shoe and shine, where shine means 'to make bright' or 'glossy'. So a shoeshine is the act of cleaning and polishing shoes, or the bright, shiny finish you get after polishing.