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goody two shoes

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noun, plural goody two shoes.(sometimes initial capital letters)
a goody-goody.
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Origin of goody two shoes

After the title character of The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765), a nursery tale perhaps written by Oliver Goldsmith
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to goody two shoes

prudish, squeamish, adoring, ardent, faithful, fervent, passionate, pious, religious, sincere, zealous, moral, nice, puritan, strait-laced, goody-goody, prig, epicene, fastidious, finicky

Other Idioms and Phrases with goody two shoes

goody two-shoes

A prudish, self-righteous individual, a goody-goody. For example, Phyllis was a real goody two-shoes, tattling on her friends to the teacher. This expression alludes to the main character of a nursery tale, The History of Goody Two-Shoes (1765), who was so pleased when receiving a second shoe that she kept saying “Two shoes.” The goody in the story is short for goodwife but means “goody-goody” in the idiom.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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