Meaning & use
winklepicker
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Meaning
nounusually pluralBritishinformal
A shoe with a long, sharply pointed toe, popular in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s.
Grammar: Usually plural: 'a pair of winklepickers'; singular 'winklepicker' is possible for one shoe.
Patterns
- a pair of winklepickers
He wore black winklepickers and a leather jacket to the gig.
Her grandfather still has the winklepickers he wore as a teenager.
Winklepickers came back into fashion with the punk revival.
Word forms
| plural | winklepickers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pair of winklepickers
- He bought a pair of winklepickers at a vintage market.
- black winklepickers
- The band all wore black winklepickers.
- pointed winklepickers
- The pointed winklepickers made it hard to walk fast.
- wear winklepickers
- Teddy boys used to wear winklepickers.
- leather winklepickers
- His leather winklepickers were polished daily.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pointy shoes
- This is a plain everyday description, while 'winklepickers' names the specific retro style.
- drainpipes
- This names the matching narrow trousers of the era, not the shoes.
- brogues
- These are sturdy shoes with decorative holes and a rounded toe, which is not the same style.
- stilettos
- These are high-heeled women's shoes, and they are unrelated to the long pointed toe.
Word family
- winkle noun
- a small edible sea snail removed from its shell with a pin
- pick verb
- to remove something using a small pointed tool
- winkle out phrasal verb
- to get something out with effort
- picker noun
- someone or something that picks
Commonly confused: winklepicker or brothel creepers?
winklepicker vs brothel creepers
These are suede shoes with thick crepe soles, also linked with 1950s British youth style but with a different, rounded shape.
Practice
Which item best fits the description of 'winklepickers'?
Choose one answer.
Winklepickers have long pointed toes. Steel-toed boots are tough work boots and do not have that sharp shape.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “winklepicker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.