goody two shoes

See also: goody-two-shoes, and goody two-shoes

English

Alternative forms

• goody-two-shoes, goody two-shoes, goodie two shoes, goodie two-shoes

Etymology

From goody (“goodwife, obsolete title of respect for a woman”) +‎ two +‎ shoes. Generally considered to have originated with the title character in The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765), which indeed seems to be the source of its later use as a common noun with the present meaning. However, as a proper noun with implications of wealth rather than goodness, it is also found earlier, c. 1687, in the writings of Charles Cotton: “Why, what then; Goody Two-Shoes, what if it be? / Hold you, if you can, your tittle-tattle, quoth he.”

Noun

goody two shoes (plural goody two shoes)

1. (derogatory) A goody-goody; a person who is exceptionally good and perhaps self-satisfied.
   • 2006 June 18, William Safire, quoting Harry Reid, “Logoloco”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     […] When jabbed by ethicists, he at first asserted, "I'm not Goody Two-Shoes," before acknowledging a minor lapse.

   • 2012 April 24, Patrick Wintour, “Jeremy Hunt: the 'goody two shoes' caught up in BSkyB scandal”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     [Jeremy Hunt] is charming, thoughtful and amusing in private, and one ally said he was "almost a goody two shoes".

   • 2014 December 11, Stephen Holden, “Goody-Two-Shoes Loses His Footing”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN:

     But the flaw at the heart of the movie is the decision of this goody-two-shoes to commit a series of robberies to support the family.

Synonyms

• (exceptionally good person): boy scout

Translations

goody-goody

• Hebrew: יֶלֶד טוֹב יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (he) m (yéled tov yrushaláim)
• Russian: па́инька (ru) f (páinʹka), свято́ша (ru) m (svjatóša)
• Swedish: bror Duktig c

Further reading

• The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes on Wikipedia.Wikipedia