Talk:left-footer

Etymology

On the ‘Times for the Times’ crossword blog 2 days ago, someone said that this word derives from Catholics putting their left feet forward before genuflecting and someone else said that the word is also used in Australia with the same meaning and is rhyming slang ‘left-foot kick’ = ‘Mick’ = ‘Catholic’. How do we know it relates to how Irishmen use spades instead? Overlordnat1 (talk) 16:00, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

I can't find any evidence on YouTube of Catholics taking communion in this unusual manner, nor can I find any actual uses of 'left-foot Mick'. The spade theory is almost certainly true. --Overlordnat1 (talk) 13:35, 1 January 2023 (UTC)

When Catholics enter a church they genuflect on one knee before the Eucharist. In doing so they obviously have to put one foot in front of the other and for most people that will be the left foot. Of course, this actually means that they are right-footed: they use the right leg for the more challenging movement of kneeling down. But as such the information is correct; whether it is the true origin of the sense is another question. 88.65.40.9 20:21, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

PS: Yes, the same movement is also done in taking Communion. Today Communion is mostly taken by hand, but that was forbidden for laypeople until the Second Vatican Council and some still prefer to take it directly on the tongue. In that case they usually genuflect before the priest in same way as above. (Some churches also have steps or stools on which you can kneel.) 88.65.40.9 20:26, 13 September 2023 (UTC)