clodhopper








noun

  1. a clumsy boor; rustic; bumpkin.
  2. clodhoppers, strong, heavy shoes.

noun informal

  1. a clumsy person; lout
  2. (usually plural) a large heavy shoe or boot
n.

1690s, slang, “one who works on plowed land, a rustic,” from clod (n.) + agent noun from hop (v.). Cf. in a similar sense clod-breaker, clod-crusher; in this word perhaps a play on grasshopper. Sense extended by 1836 to the shoes worn by such workers.

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