clodhopper
English · Thesaurus
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clodhopper
- /ˈklɑdˌhɑpɚ/ US
- /ˈklɒdˌhɒpə/ UK
Where it comes from
Compound of clod + hopper (agentive form of the verb hop). Perhaps affected by analogy with grasshopper.
The term originated in the 17th century as a derogatory name for a farm laborer—someone who "hopped" (stomped) over "clods" of earth; attested in the sense of "peasant" since the seventeenth century; the extended sense of "boot" or "shoe" dates from the nineteenth century.
While originating in Britain, the term survives most strongly in Southern/Appalachian speech.
noun clodhoppers
- A strong shoe for heavy-duty use; a boot. ...who had got on his "hill shoes," as he calls a pair of clodhoppers as thick as a ploughman's, and stuck round with nails.
- Any shoe construed (within a particular context) as ungainly. We had to walk slow because of his wooden clod-hoppers, and that was the way I wanted it now
- United States Navy ankle length work shoes, distinct from dress shoes or combat boots. Smiling Jim Mead of New York tries on his GI clodhopper boots. He decided to return them "because we couldn't make any altitude with those aboard."
- To refer to generally big feet or the foot of a clumsy person.
-
A clumsy or foolish person.
All guess-work exploits shrivel up a good yard, or sometimes two, when brought to the measure, and the champion of the county dwindles into a clumsy clod-hopper.
Similar: oaf
- A peasant or yokel (countryperson). Near-synonyms: bumpkin, hick
- A farmer or plowman.
- Wheatear: any of various passerine birds. ...and as the birds then begin to resort to the downs and open commons, the "fallow-chat," "wheat-ear," and "clodhopper," are not unappropriate names.
Similar: clodknocker
Thesaurus
noun
Similar: clodknocker
Translations
Every language
noun clumsy person
| Español | ganso, patoso, paleto |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Bauerntölpel, Scharrhans |
noun strong, heavy shoe
| Español | zapatón |
|---|---|
| Français | écrase-merde |
Talk about this word "clodhopper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clodhopper. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. clodhopper. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clodhopper "clodhopper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clodhopper.Cite this
@misc{clodhopper_2026,
title = {clodhopper},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clodhopper},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
