Slipshod

Are you shod? Kids come to school without being shod. Can that be called " unshod?" Or "Shoddy?" Strangely enough, shod is the past tense of the verb, to shoe. I guess they usually mean horses, as in my horse got shod yesterday. But I read a book last night that said, "All employees are expected to come to work shod." I had to look it up as I thought it might be a synonym for prompt. But I think I will hang this rule on the wall: All students must be shod. I like it. I wonder how many of my very astute students would ask what it meant? They would probably assume I meant all students must be shot. And probably think it was a joke. Although we have 4 or 5 dictionaries and a thesaurus in the room, I would bet, none of them would even consider looking it up. I bought a dictionary for my son for his ninth birthday (among other things). He doesn’t like it, because it doesn’t have as many illustrations as his Children’s Dictionary. But I’m sure he’ll get used to it. The Children’s Dictionary did not contain the word “shod!” Not even the expression slip-shod.

Slipshod - adj. poorly made, careless, shabby. Constructed from Slip + Shod.
Shoddy - adj. shabby, run-down; inferior. Origin Unknown.
Shoe - v. to furnish or fit with shoes. From German.