Proverbs and Shoes: How Languages Dress Up Meaning

One of my favorite hobbies is wandering through the winding alleys of world proverbs, and over the years, I came to a conviction: proverbs are products of culture long before they’re products of language.

These expressions are built from words and imagery unique to each environment, passed down through generations and shaped by the subtle tastes of that culture. And I insist on ‘taste’ because taste is the unspoken standard that runs through the body of every proverb. That’s why when proverbs migrate from one culture to another, the result can sometimes be a shock — often a comical one.

Recently, I was with a friend, musing over languages, cultures and expressions, and I mentioned a widely-used French phrase that people repeat freely and without embarrassment in daily conversations:

‘Trouver chaussure à son pied.’ This translated to ‘Find the shoe that fits your foot.’

“What’s so strange about looking for a shoe that actually fits? Who’d buy shoes that are too small or too big?” my friend asked.

“Wait,” I said. “You might be surprised to hear that ‘find the shoe that fits your foot’ is actually a French metaphor, and it’s not about shoes. It’s about finding something or someone that matches your needs perfectly.

Algerian author, Mohammed Akouni, wrote how this expression is used in many different situations in life. It’s on page 48 in his little book Popular French Proverbs.

Let’s start with romance. When someone finally meets their ideal partner, they might say: ‘I finally found the shoe that fits when I met Marie.’

If we’re talking careers, someone might say: ‘after years of searching, so and so finally found the shoe that fits as an art director.’

People might have viewed many apartments before ‘finding the shoe that fits.’ And they might have done a lot of shopping before finding what they were looking for. ‘I looked everywhere for the perfect handbag, and I think I finally found the shoe that fits.’

My friend laughed out loud, almost but not quite, rolling on the floor.

“Can you imagine if someone from our country was appointed ambassador, and the very next day, a journalist wrote: ‘We’ve found the right shoe with Mr. So-and-so being appointed ambassador for our beloved nation!”

I burst out laughing, too.

“But you know what we say back home about finding the perfect match? ‘The pot finally found its lid.’ Maybe we feel pots are more elegant, less insulting, than shoes?”

“Well, yes, a touch more sophisticated. But where do shoes fit in our proverbs?”

“Whenever footwear or anything to do with feet shows up in our sayings, it’s always there to insult and belittle.”

“True, true. I’ve just thought of a few classics our folks use.

‘So-and-so is an orphan shoe; there’s nothing like it.’ Meaning the person is like an old, battered single shoe. Or ‘He’s as valuable as an old, worn-out shoe.’

Or how about this one to describe misers: ‘No two shoes have ever bumped into each other on his doorstep.’

And if someone’s being really stubborn: ‘He’ll only budge if you bring out the shoe!’ This one’s quite sly. It seems to mean he won’t move unless he’s got some shoes on. But what it really means is he won’t budge unless threatened with the shoe.

Here’s another sly one: ‘The shoe found him;’ You’d think it means the shoe fits, but actually, it means he got hit with the shoe.

Then there’s this one: ‘They chased him down with a slipper.’ And ‘Don’t ever take him off your foot’, likening a person to a shoe.

Suddenly my friend got up.

“Sorry. I have to go! I’ve got a dentist’s appointment. I’ve finally found a dentist I’m happy with!”

“So, you’ve finally found the shoe that fits!”