Tapir Trouble Too's definitions

shoelipsism

The philosophical idea that only your own body is sure to exist. This manifests as the assumption that everyone else wears similar sizes to you, so when you make or buy clothing for other people, you may end up giving them something that's too large or too small for them. For example, in March 2026 it was reported in The Wall Street Journal that President Trump "has taken to guessing people’s shoe size in front of them", and ordering a pair of $145 Oxford leather Florsheims for them on the spot. Various male members of the administration including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have been seen wearing their ill-fitting shoes, reportedly afraid to tell Trump that his guess was incorrect. David Roth of Defector posted on Bluesky, "Keep on clompin' boys!"

"My Aunt Betty knitted me a lovely pair of socks, but I'm afraid she's got a touch of shoelipsism -- she made them to fit herself, and I'm going to have to try to shrink them in a hot dryer because they keep falling down around my ankles."

by Tapir Trouble Too March 11, 2026