Goody Two-Shoes
noun (informal, disapproving)

- a prudish, self-righteous person, who is virtuous in an annoying way

- a person who is virtuous in an annoying way, with an implication of smugness

- a person who behaves very well to please people in authority, especially teachers or parents

Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The phrase is older than most people assume. The earliest known printed version appears in Charles Cotton's Voyage to Ireland in Burlesque (1670) — nearly a century before the famous children's book — where it highlights a woman's relative comfort compared to those around her: "Goody Two-shoes" implied someone fortunate enough to own a pair of shoes while others went without.

The phrase entered popular culture through "The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes", published in London in 1765 by John Newbery, widely considered the first English publisher of books written specifically for children. The book didn't invent the phrase, but it gave it a story — and that story stuck. It follows Margery Meanwell, an orphan so poor she owns only one shoe. When a wealthy stranger gives her a pair, she is overcome with delight and runs around showing everyone, repeating: "Two shoes, ma'am! See — two shoes!" That delighted reaction earns her the nickname. Goody, incidentally, was the period equivalent of Mrs. — a contracted form of Goodwife, a courtesy title for women of modest standing — so the villagers were also gently mocking her for getting above herself.

The book went through dozens of editions and was read by Jane Austen, among others. But somewhere along the way, the phrase turned. The character was genuinely good — but when someone is relentlessly, conspicuously good, people grow suspicious. By the early 20th century, the term had soured into mild contempt for anyone who seemed to perform virtue rather than simply live it. What started as a poor girl's cry of joy at owning something as basic as a pair of shoes ended up, somehow, as shorthand for everything people find irritating about someone who tries too hard to be good.

The phrase completes a journey that few words manage: from a poor girl's cry of joy, to a title of respect, to a label no one wants pinned on them.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS & IDIOMS

apple-polisher, boy/girl scout, brown-noser, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, by-the-book, choirboy/girl, crawler, do-gooder, faultless one, goody-goody, good little soldier, GOODY TWO-SHOES, holier-than-thou, keeps their nose clean, little lord fauntleroy (miss perfect), miss prim, model pupil, moral apostle, moraliser, moralist, never puts a foot wrong (steps out of line), play it by the book (safe), plays by the rules, prig, priggish, prim, prudish, puritan, rule-follower, saint, sanctimonious, self-righteous, smug, squeaky-clean, strait-laced, suck-up, sucks up to the boss, teacher's pet, toes the line, too good to be true, wears a halo, wouldn't say boo to a goose, yes-man/woman

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“ ‘GOODY TWO-SHOES’ reminds us that virtue becomes suspicious when it’s performed for an audience.” 

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PLEASE SUPPORT US

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(OWAD Founder)