[Ads-l] Antedating of "White Shoe" (Company or Law Firm)

[Shapiro, Fred]

white shoe (OED, 1.b., 1960)

1958 New Jersey State Bar Journal Spring 91/1 (HeinOnline)

A few big firms ... reputedly have a predilection for young men who are listed in the Social Register.  These firms are called "white-shoe outfits," a term derived from the buckskin shoes that used to be part of the accepted uniform at certain eastern prep schools and colleges.

Fred Shapiro


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