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The second story refers to
cockfighting form where the phrase ‘well heeled” is believed to
have come. In this context it means that a bird is provided with
good, sharp metal spurs attached to the backs of the cocks’
legs, which would inflict deadly blows on the opponent.
In later years, “well heeled “ came
to mean, “carrying a weapon” and later in modern usage it got
the connotation of “armed with a gun.” It is believed to have
been referred to in this sense in a story by the famous American
writer Mark Twain in 1866. The figurative meaning was accorded
to the phrase later, weapon becoming a metaphor for “money.”
References to “well heeled” from literature
The phrase “well heeled” is mentioned in works of literature. A
few examples from works of literature where “ well heeled” finds
a mention are given below: |
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For instance, in Eva Wilder Brodhead's, 'Bound in Shallows',
1897, there's the line:” I ain't so well-heeled right now."
The passage refers to the sad fact that good quality shoes were
never the prerogative of the poor. It also throws light on the
sharp contrast between the “ haves” and the “have-nots.” The
phrase “not so well heeled ‘ becomes symbolic of poverty.
In J. H. Beadle's, 'Undeveloped West', 1873: "To travel long out
West a man must be, in the local phrase, 'well heeled'.
Here the phrase “well heeled” assumes the modern connotation of
being armed or 'equipped with a revolver or gun'
The phrase “well heeled” in the traditional sense appears in the
Dubuque Daily Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, April 1866: "... they
resembled dung hill chickens thrown into the pit with their
natural spurs, to meet and contend with game cocks well heeled.
One stoke puts them to flight, squawking as they go; they cannot
stand steel.”
Here, the heel means the metal spurs that cocks were equipped
with, to excel in cockfights.
The above references of the phrase ‘well heeled” as well as
early citations are mostly American. Therefore it is enough
justification to consider the phrase “well heeled “ to be an
American coinage.
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