The Creeping Sole That Sounds Like It Is

 The Creeping Sole That Sounds Like It Is

 

Fashion & Cosmetics Mini site on creepers with information about how this word could be described as are also flip-flops as being an example of onomatopoeic. Creepers in the sixties became known asdesert boots and began to contribute to less formal wear for men. There are certain words in any language that sound exactly like they mean and in English this is described as being onomatopoeia. The word creeper could well be described as being such an example. To creep is very sinister sounding and conjures up a man on crepe soled shoes walking with that slightly sticky sound made when these shoes are on lino or

 highly polished wood flooring. The word lends itself well to the image of a man in a brothel and this all goes back to the end of the Second World War when returning American soldiers in their desert or tropical climate crepe soled boots came back from the front. Creepers are also those plants like ivy and mistletoe that stick to buildings and other trees for support and are therefore known as parasites. A parasite is a creepy creature although it can be amusing in the case of things like fish that stick to sharks and whales. Some years ago I was invited to fish in The Caribbean and after being shown how to fix bait to the hook I threw in the line for only the second or third time in my entire life. Willing me not to catch anything I wished for better luck on my two companions who were both keen fishermen and like me had travelled across the Atlantic for this holiday. As luck would have it and despite all my efforts at trying to be useless I caught a big one and after twenty minutes I pulled aboard a seven foot magnificent sailfish. As the fish was pulled aboard a smaller six inch long sucker fish fell from the sailfish's bell

y and after we photographed the sailfish we dragged it by its beak back in the water to make sure it got enough oxygen. The skipper then threw in the sucker fish and said within seconds it would have reattached itself to the host fish's belly. No one else caught much that day and there was I inappropriately dressed for fishing in shorts, socks and creepers he toast of the bar that evening. In the nineteen sixties these crepe soled shoes had become one of the bestselling lines in the trendy hippie London shops where they were also known more commonly as desert boots. This was the beginning of what became grunge decades later. Until this moment in time all men seemed to wear was conventional lace up black or brown leather shoes with the occasional radical summer sandal which set the tone

 for all those jokes about Englishmen abroad in hot climates wearing shorts with sandals and long grey socks. The average Englishman abroad was obviously convinced that his feet were so attractive he could not possibly let any native girl see them for fear of causing too much excitement! Next time you hear a word that sounds like the object it is describing, remember it is onomatopoeic and like the flip-flop shoe is as it sounds you won't forget the sailfish story. For creepers se