white-shoe
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of white-shoe
First recorded in 1975–80; apparently from the white shoes popular as moderately formal wear among suburban men c1980
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.
That work was handled by lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell, a white-shoe firm that also represents Trump and was hired by Adani last summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Meta and Google each had multiple partners from white-shoe firms at the defense table every day for eight weeks in Los Angeles, attorneys who can command thousands of dollars per billable hour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2026
These involve some of the big white-shoe conservative law firms, Consovoy McCarthy and others in D.C.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2024
Macfarlane notes that HHMI’s lead lawyer is Chong Park, a partner at the white-shoe firm Ropes & Gray known for working on large, complex cases.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 4, 2023
“Phooey, I say, on all white-shoe college boys who edit their campus literary magazines. Give me an honest con man any day.”
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
