shoe-leather

adjective

shoe-leath·​er ˈshü-ˌle-t͟hər 

: involving or using basic, direct, or old-fashioned methods

shoe-leather journalism

Examples of shoe-leather in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The result, in which brave inmate activists Melvin Ray and Robert Earl Council leak vital information, and the filmmakers chase down leads with shoe-leather doggedness, should outrage the nation. —Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025

In an era of drone surveys and time-lapse camera readouts of forest growth, the shoe-leather study has endured as a rare and vital long-term look at how seasonal biological phenomena change over time. —Benjamin Cassidy, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024

But as results of the 1956 election demonstrated, shoe-leather reporting was no antidote for the wayward polls. —W. Joseph Campbell, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2024

The Biden administration’s shoe-leather diplomacy also advanced last spring’s developments. —Stephen Pomper, Foreign Affairs, 2 Dec. 2022

Martinez, 59, a Republican, has raised less than $15,000 but is hopeful his shoe-leather campaign can win votes. —Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2024

The consummate process film is a deliberate portrayal of shoe-leather journalism and uncovering the government rot from the outside in. —Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 26 June 2024

Premiering Wednesday on Apple TV+, the eight-episode series from creator Paul Rutman (Indian Summers) weaves slippery social issues into its suspenseful tale of a decade old murder, institutional power dynamics, and good old-fashioned shoe-leather police work. —Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 8 Jan. 2024

But Jenna Ortega’s movie-star confidence in the title role more than eclipses Martin Freeman’s shoe-leather character acting, a perhaps inevitable outcome given the age and gender politics exercised in its story — but not necessarily one that gets at something truly interesting. —Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 24 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shoe-leather

• together
• aether
• gether
• heather
• leather
• nether
• tether
• weather
• wether
• whether
• altogether