Shoes on a table

Superstition

For the 1960 incident at the United Nations General Assembly, see Shoe-banging incident.

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There is a superstition that bad luck will come to a person who places shoes on a table.

A belief common in the North of England is that the tradition relates to the coal mining industry. When a miner died in a colliery accident, his shoes were placed on the table as a sign of respect. By extension, doing so was seen as tempting fate or simply as bad taste.[1]

In the world of theatre, putting shoes on a dressing room table is considered by some to bring the risk of a bad performance, just as "Break a leg!" is considered good luck.[2] Also described as an old wives' tale, the superstition may date back to medieval times.[3] Some sources ascribe the origin to the fact that criminals were hanged while still wearing their shoes.[4] It may have something to do with death, and the idea of placing a new pair of shoes on the table would signify that someone had just died, or you would have bad luck for the rest of the day, quarrel with someone or lose your job.[5]

Even among people who are not superstitious, shoes can be associated with contamination.[6]

## Popular culture[edit]

Power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice mention the superstition in their cover of the Stevie Wonder song, "Superstition".

Blood Brothers, the 1983 musical by Willy Russell set in Liverpool, contains a song about superstition entitled "Shoes Upon The Table".

## See also[edit]

* Tradition of removing shoes in the home and houses of worship

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Shoes on a table are bad luck Folklore and Urban Legends". Weirdisland.co.uk. 2014-08-29. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
2. ^ David Pickering, Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions (Sterling Publishing, 2002) p. 425
3. ^ I. Marc Carlson (2008-02-22). "Shoe-perstitions". Personal.utulsa.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
4. ^ Harry Collis and Joe Kohl, 101 American Superstitions (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1998) p. 69.
5. ^ "Shoes on the table".
6. ^ Padmal de Silva and Stanley Rachman, Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, (Oxford University Press, 2004) p. 34

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Superstition

Main topics|

* Amulet
* Evil eye
* Luck
* Omen
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* Myth and ritual

Lists|

* List of superstitions
* List of lucky symbols
* List of bad luck signs
* Sailors' superstitions
* Theatrical superstitions

Africa|

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Americas|

* Ascalapha odorata
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* Veve
* White lighter myth
* Witch window

Asia|

* Superstition in India
* Superstition in Pakistan
* Superstition in the Philippines
* Japanese superstitions
* Superstition in Korea
* Bhoot (ghost)
* Chhaupadi
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* Ghosts in Bengali culture
* Jackal's horn
* Kuai Kuai culture
* Muhurta
* Navaratna
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Europe|

* August curse
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* Russian traditions and superstitions
* Superstition in Britain
* Superstition in Serbia
* Spilling water for luck
* The Scottish Play
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General|

* 1 (Ace of spades)
* 3 (Three on a match)
* 4 (Four-leaf clover, Tetraphobia)
* 7 (Seventh son of a seventh son)
* 11:11
* 13 (Friday the 13th, The Thirteen Club, Thirteenth floor, Triskaidekaphobia)
* 17 (Heptadecaphobia)
* 27 (27 Club)
* 39 (Curse of 39)
* 666 (Number of the Beast)
* Auspicious wedding dates
* Baseball superstition
* Beginner's luck
* Black cat
* Bread and butter
* Break a leg
* Bullroarer
* Chain letter
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* Curse
* Davy Jones' Locker
* Dead man's hand
* End-of-the-day betting effect
* Fear of frogs
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* Law of contagion
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* Lock of hair
* Maternal impression
* Miasma theory
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* Rainmaking
* Ship sponsor
* Shoes on a table
* Sign of the horns
* Something old
* Spilling salt
* Statue rubbing
* Threshold
* Toi toi toi
* Wishing well
* Witch ball
* Witching hour

Related|

* Apophenia
* Apotropaic magic
* Astrology and science
* Coincidence
* Debunker
* Divination
* Folk religion
* Fortune-telling
* Magic and religion
* Magical thinking
* Numerology
* Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena
* Post hoc ergo propter hoc
* Traditional medicine
* Urban legend
* Superstition in Judaism
* Superstitions in Muslim societies

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