We are accustomed to giving names to things of daily use, neglecting their real name. The same thing happened with the shoehorn. It is not clear for what reasons, people began to call the device for making it easier to put on shoes a spoon. Although in fact the word spoon already has its own meaning that is not related to boots. So let’s figure out what the correct name for a shoehorn is, who invented it, and why people call it a spoon?
Who invented the shoehorn and why?
The first step towards the invention of this device was made by the British at the beginning of the 16th century. This was the Renaissance period and the reign of King Henry VIII. He issued a decree according to which it was forbidden to wear wide shoes. People switched to narrow satin shoes.
Satin shoes have become an inconvenient attribute for 2 reasons:
- the narrow and unstable heel made it difficult to put on shoes;
- Rich people's clothes were multi-layered, so they interfered with movements and did not allow them to bend over properly.
And the British came up with a solution - a device that is inserted into soft shoes and makes the back of the shoes harder, and the smooth surface allows the heel to easily slide, even into narrow shoes. They called the device a shoehorn.
At that time, due to the multi-layered clothing, the horns were attached to a long handle. This made it possible to put on shoes with minimal inclination. It was a luxury because the horns were made of ivory or silver. They were inlaid with stones and decorated with patterns or silver flowers. Later, when shoes became cheaper and more people could buy them, they learned to make horns from metal, wood, and even later - plastic.
REFERENCE! Shoe horn is a semicircular blade, expanding downwards to 4-5 cm. Curved from the end - the part that is inserted into the shoe. Used for putting on shoes without crushing the back of the shoes.
How they are used and called these days
Now the shoehorn has ceased to be a luxury and has become a household item. Often not expensive, but there are also workshops that make horns to order from expensive materials or with luxurious decor.
They call the horn a spoon, it has become popular among the people, and most people don’t even know about its real name. Perhaps it caught on because of its external similarity to a kitchen appliance. After all, the first horns were not a solid rounded blade. It was attached to a long handle and resembled a kitchen appliance.
Shoes are no longer satin, but are often tight. To quickly fit into narrow shoes or sneakers, the horn is inserted into the heel. The foot slips easily, and the back remains not wrinkled.
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I think that the poor people used an ordinary wooden spoon to insert their feet into the bast shoes without untying the laces, that is, without unraveling the bast shoes, otherwise braiding the bast shoes took a lot of time, and to do this they had to remove the bast shoes from their feet, and then do it all over again. Well, out of despair, the people’s ingenuity began to use a spoon, and then this became stronger everywhere, even among the aristocracy and other working intelligentsia.
where does a horn belong to a kitchen utensil?
but the shoe spatula fits shoes and the kitchen
What other spoon? – I’ve never heard of it. Horn, of course!
Well, the horn is a small horn. For me, it still looks much more like a spoon than a horn. 🙂
It's not as significant as it sounds, the conversation here is about the correct name of the item. I was born and lived my entire long life in St. Petersburg, and in my family and in my husband’s family, and among acquaintances and friends - only a “horn”. Well... it just happened, sorry if I didn’t fit in.
I have lived almost my entire life in our country (with the exception of 5 years that I spent in Poland), and I also call this object a horn. But I also know about the other name, “spoon,” of course.
We also call everything a horn. Although, perhaps, I heard the spoon too...
The horn, it seems to me, comes from the word “rozhon” - an attachment for a spear. The horn was mounted on the handle. Unlike the gouge, the horn was not sharply sharpened.
You live here and don’t even think about such nuances. For me all my life, horn and spoon have been equivalent words.
Then tell us what the name of the block for removing boots was.
The article is complete crap. Firstly, is the author not aware that language is constantly changing and things change their names?
“And the British came up with a way out... They called the device a shoehorn.”
Seriously? Did the British call this device a Russian word? Yah?
“It is not clear for what reasons, people began to call the device for making it easier to put on shoes a spoon.”
Seriously? In my opinion, it’s even a no brainer why, and in the article it’s written in plain text: “Perhaps it caught on because of its external similarity to a kitchen appliance.” But, of course, it looks much more like a horn, yeah.
“Although in fact, the word spoon already has its own meaning that is not related to boots.”
Idiot argument! Doesn’t the word “horn” have a meaning unrelated to boots? Ozhegov’s dictionary, for example, gives as many as 8 meanings for the word “horn”, but only 2 for the word “spoon”. Isn’t the bias too obvious?
So, both in form, and in meaning, and in strength of habit, and in the expediency of using due to the number of meanings of both words, the word “horn” is inferior to the word “spoon” to designate this object, but no, it is necessary to prove that only with a horn it is correct to call it. Why, if the people have already chosen the most accurate designation for this item? Yes, the translation “shoehorn” for the word “shoehorn” will probably be somewhat closer to the original, but, damn it, why do we always have to take a copy of the original name, and not come up with our own?
I have already written about this phenomenon. I repeat for those who are not attentive. This device has another name - LANGUAGE.
It’s funny, I’ve never worn bast shoes, but I just imagined how Grandfather Vladimir put the spoon in it and laced it up, smacked it along the path, any way, I’m lying around, and he’s sleeping in the bast shoes.
“Horn” - from the word “horn”, they were made from horn. They sawed the cow's horn and gave it the desired shape. If anyone needed it, they also attached a stick. In the Caucasus, they also drink wine from a horn - overflowing, and in different countries, babies were fed from a horn (the tip was cut off) when there were no nipples and bottles.
And rich people drank wine from women’s shoes, like they were swaggering.
The ass is called a block, I myself have seen in films how they kick someone in the ass who grabs a boot to pull it off.
Dear comrades, users of this most useful item. I’m from St. Petersburg myself, but nevertheless, a spoon and that’s it.In reality it looks more like a spoon than a horn. There was a time when a shoe rack broke and I took an old tablespoon.
Maybe you're right! The spoon was invented by man earlier as an object that made it easier to take liquid food, then its shape itself begs for help when putting on tight-fitting shoes. Someone adapted the longitudinal cutting of an animal’s horn for these purposes, and perhaps that’s why they called it. There is a unique meaning to getting to the bottom of the origin of this object; the main thing is that the spoon or horn performs its functions properly. Although, of course, it is interesting to understand this. This comes from the realm of curiosity. There is such a “disease” among thinking people. Look around you and you will discover this untouched “virgin land” of interesting things with unusual names and you want to know everything about them! This is a very interesting, educational and exciting activity. Good luck to you!