Skip to main content
Urban Dictionary Merch
Your favorite words on things you can wear, drink from, read, or give to a friend.
The Urban Dictionary Store sells gifts you’ll have to explain.

shoes on a wire 

Places where you see shoes that are thrown on a telephone wire indicate drug houses or places where you can purchase drugs.
Hey, look, shoes on a wire! Finally we have found a place to buy drugs.

shoes on a wire 

Footwear hanging from an overhead wire by the laces. The laces of the shoes are tied together, then lobbed up to the wire(s) so that the shoes hang and dangle. Supposedly signals a location where drugs can be purchased; also symbolizes pointlessness i.e. there is no good reason for the object (shoes) being there. Can be found near schools, and in poor areas and tourist locations.
"Once in awhile I'll spot shoes on a wire and it sparks my curiosity and I'll chuckle."

"Let's play the shoes on a wire game. First one to get the shoes to hang wins."
shoes on a wire by yes juanito yes October 11, 2014

Shoes on a wire 

Also called Shoe-tossing or shoefiti. This can be a commemoration for a fallen gang member or someone has died; the “this is for drugs” thing is a misconception.
Ernesto died last week in a drive by. So we put his Shoes on a wire to honor him.

Shoes on a wire 

A pair of shoes tied together and hanging from power lines or tree branches signifies that someone beloved is on drugs (specially marijuana) and there is no way back from there for that person. The shoes belong to said person. The reason they are hanging is that the shoes are high above the ground, symbolizing the state of the person, who is said to be in a permanent condition of submission known as "high af". Some people state that when the individual's spirit returns, he an his family will walk that much closer to heaven.
"Hey dude, look up those Shoes on a Wire near Steve's house, I thought he stopped smoking joints"
Shoes on a wire by Pawlo Andrew June 22, 2016

Shoe on a Wire 

The act of doing something purely because you can, or doing something that is of no benefit- maybe even a hinderance to the lives of others.
Guy 1: What idiot threw those shoes on the wire?
Guy 2: That's Shoe on a wire!!
Guy 1: Why would he do that?
Guy 2: I said, he loves doing something purely because he can!
Guy 1: oh!!!
Shoe on a Wire by Jack De October 9, 2008

Shoe on a wire 

A tactic used by Suburban white kids to scare other suburban white kids who grew the fk up.
The retard won't run from us. Let's throw a Shoe on a wire to keep out black friends impressed
Shoe on a wire by Retarded mutt November 2, 2022
More from Urban Dictionary
The phenomenon where adults salivate at children's toys
Every time I walk into the toy aisle, I catch myself kidulting over the latest action figures and LEGO sets!
kidulting by Emotional Cruiser October 12, 2025
Word of the Day on October 4, 2026
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”

Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
According to the boffins downstairs, the murderer used a serrated blade.
Boffin by Agnon February 11, 2023
Word of the Day on October 3, 2026
Load more