The wooden-shoe origin storySourced
France · English meaning
Throwing shoes into machinery is not the secure etymology
Sabotage is often explained through workers throwing wooden sabots into machinery. That is an alleged etymology rather than a secure explanation. A connection to the noise and clumsiness associated with the footwear is considered more likely. A memorable scene need not establish a word’s origin.
An attractive word story still needs evidence.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Sabot (shoe) · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-05