
n. Informal, pl., goody two-shoes.
A goody-goody.
[After the title character in The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, a nursery tale perhaps by Oliver Goldsmith.]
| Dictionary: goody two-shoes |

[After the title character in The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, a nursery tale perhaps by Oliver Goldsmith.]
| Wordsmith Words: goody two-shoes |
(GOOD-ee TOO-shooz)
noun
A smugly virtuous person.
Etymology
After the title character in The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, a children's book believed to have been written by Oliver Goldsmith
In this moralistic nursery tale, Margery is an orphan who has only one shoe. One day, when she gets the full pair, she runs about shouting, "Two shoes!" Eventually she becomes rich and educated through her virtue and hard work.
The word goody was a polite term of address for a woman of humble social status. It's a contraction of the word goodwife and was formerly used as a title in a manner similar to the current Mrs.
| Idioms: goody two-shoes |
A prudish, self-righteous individual, a goody-goody. For example, Phyllis was a real goody two-shoes, tattling on her friends to the teacher. This expression alludes to the main character of a nursery tale, The History of Goody Two-Shoes
(1765), who was so pleased when receiving a second shoe that she kept saying "Two shoes." The
goody in the story is short for goodwife but means "goody-goody" in the idiom.
| Word Tutor: goody-two-shoes |
| shoe (Idiom) | |
| Adam Ant (Singer) | |
| John Newbery (English publisher & businessman) |
Copyrights:
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