English

A metal shoehorn.

Alternative forms

• (verb) shoe-horn

Noun

shoehorn ‎(plural shoehorns)

1. A tool used to assist putting the foot into a shoe by sliding the heel in.
2. (derogatory) Anything by which a transaction is facilitated; a medium.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spectator to this entry?)

3. (obsolete) Anything which draws on or allures; an inducement.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Beaumont and Fletcher to this entry?)

Synonyms

• shoeing-horn

Translations

Verb

shoehorn ‎(third-person singular simple present shoehorns, present participle shoehorning, simple past and past participle shoehorned)

1. (literally) To use a shoehorn.
2. (transitive) To force (something) into (a tight space); to squeeze (something) into (a schedule, etc); to exert great effort to insert or include (something); to include (something) despite potent reasons not to.

   I shoehorned his dozen burgeoning bags into the backseat of my tiny car, and off we went.

   His staff want to shoehorn an extra stop into his already packed campaigning schedule.

   • 2012, The Economist, Oct 13th 2012 issue, Italian politics: Who will be Italy’s next prime minister?

     A member of Mr Monti’s government admitted that, barring a hung parliament, it was impossible for the moment to see how Mr Monti could be shoehorned into politics after next spring.

Translations