in general, thongs refer to the style of sandal (men's or women's) that have a piece that comes up between the big toe and the other four toes.
to me, flip-flops are a subset of thongs...they're the cheapie rubber/plastic ones (originally sold for wearing at the beach or pool) that make smack-smack noises on the bottoms of your feet when you walk. tho my arches are so high that almost all thongs will make those smack-smack noises on my feet, tho usually they're quieter.
in my own home i don't wear anything as "shower shoes," but when i was an undergrad and lived in the dorms i did because they were communal showers. (well, individual shower stalls but everyone on the floor shared the same four stalls) it was suggested to me as more hygienic, and once i got there i saw that almost everyone else wore them so apparently my family wasn't alone in this thinking.
i have seen shoes of the style that (generally) women know as "slides" (but made of the same gelly-plastic) being sold as "shower shoes" as well, so i'm aware of that term separately to describe the particular usage even though i don't use the term myself.
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Date: 2005-10-24 04:41 pm (UTC)to me, flip-flops are a subset of thongs...they're the cheapie rubber/plastic ones (originally sold for wearing at the beach or pool) that make smack-smack noises on the bottoms of your feet when you walk. tho my arches are so high that almost all thongs will make those smack-smack noises on my feet, tho usually they're quieter.
in my own home i don't wear anything as "shower shoes," but when i was an undergrad and lived in the dorms i did because they were communal showers. (well, individual shower stalls but everyone on the floor shared the same four stalls) it was suggested to me as more hygienic, and once i got there i saw that almost everyone else wore them so apparently my family wasn't alone in this thinking.
i have seen shoes of the style that (generally) women know as "slides" (but made of the same gelly-plastic) being sold as "shower shoes" as well, so i'm aware of that term separately to describe the particular usage even though i don't use the term myself.