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What is the origin of the phrase 'waiting for the other shoe to drop'?

Question #148244. Asked by Walneto.
Last updated Jan 11 2021.
Originally posted Jan 11 2021 11:25 AM.

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pehinhota star
Answer has 5 votes
Currently Best Answer
pehinhota star
10 year member
406 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
In the tenements of New York City in the late 19th and early 20th century, apartments were built with bedrooms on top of one another. It was common to hear your upstairs neighbor take off a shoe, drop it, and then repeat the action. It became shorthand for waiting for something you knew was coming.

link https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/the-origin-of-waiting-for-other-shoe-to-drop-15-other-common-idioms.html#:~:text=In%20the%20tenements%20of%20New,something%20you%20knew%20was%20coming.

Jan 11 2021, 1:42 PM
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