Meanings
- alternativearchaicidiomaticAlternative form of as ever trod shoe-leather.
[I]t's his temper as has saved his life; he's the best-temperdest cretur as ever trod shoe leather.
1830, [Theodore Edward Hook], chapter II, in Maxwell. … In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 54–552 more examples
As handsome a gentleman, to be sure, as ever trod shoe leather! I wonder that old folks can be so very, very blind!
1809 February, E[nos] Bronson et al., “On the Marriage Manufactory at Gretna Green”, in Select Reviews, and Spirit of the Foreign Magazines, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: From the Lorenzo Press of E. Bronson; published by Hopkins and Earle, […], →OCLC, page 118"He is a brave Indian, sir." – "Oh – is that all?" – "As brave a man, as ever trod shoe leather." – "Hum!" – "Yes." – "But Indians – do they tread shoe leather?" – "He's very brave, I mean – very." – "Why not say so, then?" – "I do."
1825, [John Neal], chapter XXVI, in Brother Jonathan: Or, The New Englanders: In Three Volumes, volume II, Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 446
Cite this entry
as ever trod shoe leather. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20ever%20trod%20shoe%20leather
“as ever trod shoe leather.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20ever%20trod%20shoe%20leather. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “as ever trod shoe leather,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20ever%20trod%20shoe%20leather.
Source: as ever trod shoe leather on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.