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fowl snatchers


another name for running shoes or sneakers. My grandfather says it started during the depression when people had to have rubber soled shoes on so they could "snatch fowls" quietly for food without being caught: Got your fowl snatchers on today?

Contributor's comments: More likely to be an alternative name for sandshoes, not running shoes and most certainly not 'sneakers'.

Contributor's comments: If the person who wrote the contributors comments to this regionalism read it properly, they would realise that it is a collective name for all rubber soled shoes, and that it is the pupose the shoe is used for, not the appearance of the shoe, that places it in the category of fowl snatcher. If they thought about it, the word "sneaker" fits in very well with the definition given as to why they are used - in a "sneaky" manner. What is the difference between sandshoes, running shoes and sneakers anyway - certainly there isn't a difference for the purpose of this regionalism.