DCHP-3

toe rubber

DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)

Spelling variants:
rubber, toe-rubber

n. — usually plural, dated, Clothing

a low rubber overshoe (see Images 1 and 2).

Type: 2. Preservation — OED-3 marks toe rubber as "N. Amer." (see OED-3, s.v. "toe rubber"), with the earliest quotation from 1948. "Rubber" in this sense is marked in OED-3 as "Orig. US", with the earliest quotation from 1834 (see OED-3, s.v. "rubber" (14.a)). DARE lists as its earliest quotation an 1889 newspaper source. It appears that the term has since been preserved in Canada (Type 2) and become most prevalent in that country (see Chart 1).
See also COD-2, s.v. "toe rubber", which is marked "Cdn".

Quotations

1900
Men's Plain Toe Rubbers, extra good quality, in pointed or wide toe, sizes 6 to 13
1925
Women's Toe Rubbers. Pair.... 29c
1939
Women's Toe Rubbers From New York Made with rubber toe and sole, having strap over instep.
1948
MEN'S TOE RUBBERS Ideal for wet weather, these toe rubbers are now selling at terrific reductions.
1957
SALE! TOE RUBBERS FOR MEN AND BIG BOYS BLACK RUBBER with GRIP SOLES and HEELS. Lightweight, easy to put on and take off. Ideal for Vancouver weather.
1963
TOE RUBBERS 1.44 Compare at 1.98 Light-weight, Stretchy toe rubbers in moulded one piece construction.
1979
To achieve similar results, Ken Watson removed his left toe rubber and slid on the leather sole of his shoe.
1988
Come the first storm of the season, the hats, mitts, gloves, boots, snowsuits, winter coats and toe rubbers (surely an idea whose time has come and gone) will still be buried at the back of the closet.
1990
Clothes will be needed, such as sweaters and toe-rubbers.
2002
Our dollar, on the other hand, will buy toe rubbers, electric kettles and Smarties, none of which would work with American dollars, or at least we have our suspicions to that effect.
2005
It was almost painful to watch him take off his coat, bend over to turn on a heater and struggle to peel off his toe rubbers.
2006
Of course, the ultimate option for the fashion-free is the rubber overshoe. First introduced by J.W. Goodrich of tire fame in 1824, these traditional black beauties (minimalist toe rubbers or the full zip-up galoshes) will keep the salt from eating your Belgian loafers.
2006
But on his shoes were a pair of "toe rubbers," those slip-on rubber bootlets that fit over shoes. They may be the only pair of toe rubbers ever seen on Vancouver Island. Those easterners have some odd fashion habits ...
2012
Your dad called them “rubbers.” And as a child flopping around the front hall in those flimsy black shoe skins, they confounded you. It’s no surprise few men wear them today. They were ugly, tore easily and squeaked like balloon torture when stretched over loafers.

References

  • DARE
  • OED-3
  • COD-2

Images

Image 1: A pair of <i>toe rubbers</i>. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Peregrinus

Image 1: A pair of toe rubbers. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Peregrinus

Image 2: An advertisment for <i>toe rubbers</i> from the <i>Toronto Star</i>, 5 Jan. 1915

Image 2: An advertisment for toe rubbers from the Toronto Star, 5 Jan. 1915

Image 1: Internet Domain Search, 21 Jan. 2014

Image 1: Internet Domain Search, 21 Jan. 2014