Twinkle Toes - Theatre Etymology - Part 50

If somebody is called twinkle toes, it tends to mean that he or she is light on his or her feet. It may also mean that the person is a good dancer. The phrase is usually used as a compliment.

It is likely that this phrase originated in dance rather than from theatre. However, both are closely related. It could have bee that a person who had to dance for theatre was called twinkle toes. There is not a certain story of origin for this phrase.

Twinkle comes from the Middle English verb twinklen or the Old English verb twinclian. Toes is the plural of toe. Toe comes from the Middle English word and the Old English word tā. It may also come from the Dutch word teen, the German word Zehe, or the Old Norse word tā.

Twinkle toes is now often used to name dance companies or dance classes, especially for little girls. It has also been used to name the shoes that light up when children walk in them. It may be found in names of makeup or shoe paint as well.

An example of how twinkle toes is used to mean light on one's feet is found in the face that Fred Flintstone's bowling nickname is twinkletoes. A video of the reason for this can be viewed below.



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