Why are Catholics called left footers?

[henrietta]

Why are Catholics called left footers?

[Quizmonster]

It's common in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north-west of England, especially, for Catholics to be called 'left-footers'. It is based on the supposed tradition whereby Protestant farm-labourers dug with the right foot on the spade, whilst Catholic ones did so with the left! Click http://wwww.britannia.org/scotland/scotsdictionary
/SMALL LETTER?.shtml here and a link will take you to a Scottish dictionary web-page. Read what it says under 'kick'.

[Quizmonster]

Sorry, the link I offered above doesn't work as I wrote it wrongly. Try this one http://www.britannia.org/scotland/scotsdictionary/
k.shtml and scroll down to 'kick'.

[henrietta]

thanks quizmonster! I had wondered if there was a link with 'left' being 'bad' or 'evil' given that sinister means left in latin (think it's 'sinistra'). An odd one.

[Quizmonster]

There could conceivably be a 'sinister' connection, Henrietta, given that many Northern Irish Protestants tend to 'demonise' their Catholic neighbours, but I've never come across any explanation other than the one I offered above.

[Ralfy]

Yes the answer is 'sinister'. The Latin 'sinister' actually means 'left handed', as well as something to be feared. So a 'left footer' has to be 'sinister'.

[Ralfy]

Yes, the answer is 'sinister'.

The Latin 'sinister' actually means 'left handed', as well as something to be feared. So surely a 'left footer' has to be 'sinister'.

[annabear]

My husband has a different slant on this. As a former Lt Col, he says that all Catholics used to march out of step. Consequently I, and our two children, are left-footers.