top piece

See also: toppiece

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -iːs

Noun

top piece (plural top pieces)

  1. (shoemaking) The part of the heel on a shoe or boot that comes into contact with the ground. [from 18th c.]
    • 1834, John O'Sullivan, The Art and Mystery of the Gentle Craft‎[1], page 50:
      Then pare the top piece to the size and form you intend it to be; but that you should always do before the heel is sewed, for now you are confined to the channel.
    • 2010, Paul Frowen, Maureen O'Donnell, Donald Lorimer, Gordon Burrow, Neale's Disorders of the Foot, Elsevier Health Sciences, →ISBN, page 457:
      On the outermost part of the heel, which is in direct contact with the ground when the shoe is worn, a top piece is applied.
  2. (colloquial, chiefly US) Something worn on the head; a hat, a wig or toupee. [from 19th c.]
    • 1973, Christina Stead, The Little Hotel, Text Classics, published 2016, page 79:
      The Mayor took himself up in the lift, quite naked of course, except for his top-piece and neckpiece with his two shopping-bags […] .
  3. The head or brain. [from 19th c.]

Translations

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