Why Shoes on a Table is Considered Bad Luck

The superstition of putting shoes on a table as a marker of bad luck is widespread, particularly in Great Britain and Commonwealth countries. Various rationales, often linked to death and hygiene, dominate this belief. This is prepared by SSP.

From a morbid standpoint, placing shoes on the table has been associated with death for multiple reasons. Historically, when miners died in the pits, their boots would be placed on the table as a tribute to the deceased. Similarly, criminals who were executed were hanged with their shoes on, often with the tips of their shoes scraping the platform – a scene metaphorically transferred to the table.

Additionally, because shoes once represented a significant financial burden due to their cost, passing them down from the deceased to another family member instilled them as 'new' shoes – often linking the act of putting new shoes on the table with unlucky outcomes.

Practical considerations add another layer to the superstition. In less sanitary times, placing outdoor shoes, often dirty, near food spaces could easily cause illness, leading to the belief's persistence. This originally gained momentum during the Victorian era when heightened awareness of germs came to prominence.

But it's not just shoes that are targeted by these folk beliefs. Other objects like babies, bellows, and umbrellas also fall under the 'don't put on the table' taboo, derived from the reputation of tables as sacred, akin to home altars in various cultures.

In some traditions, especially within the Cantonese speaking community, shoes in general are seen as bad luck due to linguistic connotations—the word for 'shoe' sounding like the word for 'sigh.' Furthermore, in Italy and the Ozarks, shoes on the bed are similarly ill-fated, linked to bringing death to the family.

Despite these eerie associations, remedies exist if one accidentally violates the superstition. Spitting on the shoe soles or knocking the underside of the tabletop can ward off bad luck, but critically, the person who placed the shoes on the table must be the one to remove them.

Whether rooted in mining tributes, executed convicts, or basic hygiene concerns, avoiding placing shoes on tables integrates practical insights alongside folklore, underscoring the wisdom passed through generations.