shoeblack
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of shoeblack
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Discovering at length that the dog belonged to the shoeblack, the gentleman questioned the man, who confessed that he had taught the dog the trick in order to bring business to himself.
From Stories of Animal Sagacity by Weir, Harrison
The partners, thus encouraged, looked rather amused, and Mr Barnacle said, “You’re the little shoeblack, are you?”
From My Friend Smith A Story of School and City Life by Reed, Talbot Baines
Reg’lar swell, you know; keep yer own wally, private barber, and shoeblack brigade, yer know, to keep you all square—some one to swear at when yer outer sorts.
From Original Penny Readings A Series of Short Sketches by Fenn, George Manville
At first he had to perform the service of a shoeblack, that is, he had to oil and polish the cocoa-nut shells which his mistress wore instead of slippers.
From Tales from the German Comprising specimens from the most celebrated authors by Various
It was just like a story: thrown on the world while yet a child; a shoeblack in New York, fighting for his stand; a lumber-jack in the woods of Michigan; lastly a miner in Arizona.
From The Trail of '98 A Northland Romance by Service, Robert W. (Robert William)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
