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Aplimsoll, also spelledplimsole,[1] orpump[2] (also known as agym shoe[2][1] or asandshoe[1]), is a light sports shoe with acanvas upper and flat rubbersole.
The shoe originated in the United Kingdom,[citation needed] there called a "sand shoe", acquiring the nickname "plimsoll" in the 1870s. This name arose, according to Nicholette Jones's bookThe Plimsoll Sensation, because the coloured horizontal band joining the upper to the sole resembled thePlimsoll line on a ship's hull, or because, just like the line on a ship, if water got above the line of the rubber sole, the wearer would get wet.[3]
In the UK, plimsolls are commonly worn for school indoorphysical education. Regional terms are common: In Northern Ireland and Scotland, they may be known as "gutties"; "sannies" (from 'sand shoe') is used in Scotland.[4] In parts of Edinburgh and Midlothian, they are known as "rubbers" or "gym rubbers", owing to their rubber soles and the need to wear them in the school gym hall.[citation needed] In London, thehome counties, much of theWest Midlands, theWest Riding of Yorkshire, and northwest of England, they are known as "pumps".[5] In parts of theWest Country and Wales, they are known as "daps".[6] There is a widespread belief that "daps" is taken from a factory sign—"Dunlop Athletic Plimsoles", which was called "the DAP factory". However, this seems unlikely, as the first citation in theOxford English Dictionary of "dap" for a rubber-soled shoe is a March 1924 use in theWestern Daily Press newspaper; Dunlop did not acquire the Liverpool Rubber Company (as part of the merger with the Macintosh group of companies) until 1925.[citation needed]
InHong Kong, white plimsolls functioned as cheap athletic shoes from the 1970s to the 1990s. Due tonaming taboo (in Cantonese, 鞋 (shoes), sounds identical to 骸 (corpse)) and their color and shape resemblingnoodlefish, they were commonly known asbaahk faahn yú(白飯魚). A pair typically cost around $15 HKD (around $2 USD) and was the designated gym class shoe in school. However, due to the canvas being thin and thus unable to protect the ankles and lacking support for the foot arch, plimsolls were eventually phased out and replaced by more sturdy sneakers[7]
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