Slip-ons like low-tops/oxfords do not cover the ankle and do not have laces. The U.S. market for sneakers grew steadily as young boys lined up to buy sneakers endorsed by football player Jim Thorpe and Converse All Stars endorsed by basketball player Chuck Taylor. Form is being submitted, please wait a bit. Soon, shoes were available for football, jogging, basketball, running, etc. It took gum, patches, and counseling, but I've finally kicked smoking. During the 1990s, shoe companies perfected their fashion and marketing skills. Definition of kicks in the Idioms Dictionary. Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but that are now also widely used for everyday casual wear. During the 1950s, leisure opportunities greatly expanded, and children and adolescents began to wear sneakers as school dress codes relaxed. kicks phrase. Adolf "Adi" Dassler began producing his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, after his return from World War I, and went on to establish one of the leading athletic shoe manufacturers, Adidas. Plimsolls (British English) are "low-tech" athletic shoes and are also called "sneakers" in American English. The term 'athletic shoes' is typically used for shoes utilized for jogging or road running and indoor sports such as basketball, but tends to exclude shoes for sports played on grass such as association football and rugby football, which are generally known in North America as "cleats" and in British English as "boots" or "studs". Athletic shoes were used by competing athletes at the Olympics, helping to popularise athletic shoes among the general public. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II.[13][14]. Attributes of an athletic shoe include a flexible sole, appropriate tread for the function, and ability to absorb impact. Plimsolls were commonly worn by pupils in schools' physical education lessons in the UK from the 1950s until the early 1970s. This style of footwear also became prominent in America at the turn of the 20th century, where they were called 'sneakers'. [17][18] These are constructed with a complex structure of "rubber" with plastic/metal stiffeners to restrict foot movement. Tennis shoes is another term used in Australian, and North American English. My ears are burning! Foster and Sons designed and produced the first shoes designed for running in 1895; the shoes were spiked to allow for greater traction and speed. See also: kick. What does kicks expression mean? Running shoes come in a range of shapes suited to different running styles/abilities. Customers' online shopping preferences in mass customization. [21] In 2005, a documentary, Just for Kicks, about the sneaker phenomenon and history was released. Don’t you dare wear those kicks in here! Are they original Jordans? In the 1970s, jogging for exercise became increasingly popular, and trainers designed specifically for comfort while jogging sold well. She really gets a kick out of doing wheelies on her motorcycle in front of an audience. "Kicks" is a slang word for all shoes, although it is most often used to refer to sneakers.