patent leathers

English

Noun

patent leathers pl (plural only)

1. Patent-leather shoes.
   • 1870 February 1, “Robin Hood and His Merry Men, and the Larks They Played in the Greenwood Shade. […] Chapter III. Concluding the Mystery of Little John’s History.”, in Edwin J[ohn] Brett, editor, Boys of England: A Young Gentleman’s Journal of Sport, Travel, Fun and Instruction, volume VII, number 167, London: Publishing Office, […], page 160, column 2:

     […] his patent leathers were beautifully polished, and his hair curled by machinery.

   • 1889 June 15, E. L. P., “An Adjacent Cow Town”, in The Chicago Tribune, volume XLIX, published 17 June 1889, page 4, column 6:

     What if the fertilizer is sometimes on the sidewalk, gravel walk, or front porch, and the first dark night finds it distributed by the Cinderellian slipper or patent leathers of some party bound pedestrian?

   • 2018, Judith Rolfs, chapter 42, in The Windemere Affair, Prism, →ISBN:

     Kids with well-worn gym shoes mingled with children wearing patent leathers.

Alternative forms

• patent-leathers

Noun

patent leathers

1. plural of patent leather