Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[dreamreader]

Dear teachers:
I'd like to know why can't we put shoes on the table.
Though I've seen that at the movies several times, I still can't figure it out. Is there any problem with it?
Could you please tell me the reason? thanks a million.

Best Wishes, Dylan Yang.

[CP]

Shoes spend all their time on the ground, stepping on whatever might be there, some of it possibly dirty, poisonous, smelly, etc. In my house (and I bet in many of the ESL Cafe family houses) we take off our shoes indoors.

If someone leaves his shoes on, then puts them on a table or sofa or bed or chair, he is wiping any dirty, smelly, stuff onto the furniture, which wears it out, makes it filthy, and maybe even makes people sick. Reason enough not to do it?

If you need more reason, my grandmother said it was in poor taste and reflected bad manners and defective rearing.

P.S. Even with shoes off, you should keep your feet off the table, if only because Grandma is looking down from Heaven.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[dreamreader]

Thanks for your reply, CP.
Sorry, I didn't point out my problem clearly.
Actually It seemed that it would induce bad luck.
I wonder the reason for that--why do we have bad luck if we put the shoes on the table.

[CP]

I didn't know it was supposed to be bad luck. (If Grandma saw me do it as a child, it would be bad luck for me, but that's different.)

In which countries is it bad luck to put your shoes on the furniture?
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[asterix]

In some of parts of England it's considered bad luck to put shoes on the table.
Also, it's considered bad luck to put up an umbrella inside the house.
I have no idea why.

[CP]

Oh, I see now. It's the shoes themselves, and on a table, not feet on the furniture.

Okay, I Googled "bad luck shoes table" and got 1.93 million hits. Of the first 10, here are six explanations of this superstition. As you can see, not everyone explains it, and the explanations are inconsistent:

Bad Luck: New shoes should never be left on a table.

Don't put shoes on the table
Just like my Grandmother used to say. This will surely bring disharmony to your household. Little surprise there - someone had to polish that table, you know! I also heard tell that the hobnails in boots, scratching the surface would allow sadness into the heart of the family. Shoes should also never be stored upside down.


Tables
Not only should you not be putting your hat on them, sitting on one if you're an unmarried girl. It means you won't ever be married.
Actually, to sit on one is bad luck for anyone who does so, unless you keep one foot on the floor.
If your dog hides under a table, thunder, or a storm, is coming.
Shoes don't go on tables, either. Bad luck for the rest of your day. Either that, or death by hanging.

Shoes - bad luck
Shoes placed on a table are thought to be a bad omen and either a quarrel in the house, or a storm of thunder and lightening will come. Leaving shoes in the shape of the cross is also considered bad luck. To break break the run another person must pick the shoes up.

Shoes on table
It is very bad luck to put shoes on a table. (A symbol of death.) Such shoes cannot be worn again. In our grandparents' time, when they only had one pair of shoes, this was a calamity. Nowadays, when shoes are only made to last a season and then thrown away, it doesn't matter so much.

Putting shoes on a table. In the UK, this is considered to bring extremely bad luck, traditionally the death of a person in the house. This is sometimes specified to only be unlucky when new shoes are put on a table.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb