For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn

About

For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn is a quote popularly attributed to Ernest Hemingway, and it is said he wrote it in a bet among fellow writers to create a sad story using only six words. The story seems to imply a couple is selling baby shoes they never gave to their child due to a tragedy such as a miscarriage. While the legitimacy of the story is debated among historians, the catchphrase itself became highly recognizable and has long been parodied, perhaps for over a century. Online, these parodies could make the phrase a point of comparison between image captions that seem to tell sad stories or tweak the phrase itself to alter the implied meaning.

Origin

The origin of the phrase has been contested among historians, but it is popularly attributed to Ernest Hemingway.^[1] This is because of a 1992 book by literary agent Peter Miller, who said he was told this story in 1972:

Apparently, Ernest Hemingway was lunching at Luchow’s with a number of writers and claimed that he could write a short story that was only six words long. Of course, the other writers balked. Hemingway told each of them to put ten dollars in the middle of the table; if he was wrong, he said, he’d match it. If he was right, he would keep the entire pot. He quickly wrote six words down on a napkin and passed it around; Papa won the bet. The words were “FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER WORN.” A beginning, a middle and an end!

Quote Investigator^[1] found multiple examples of similar phrases being used in advertisements and other written works in the early 20th century, such as:

- A 1906 newspaper ad that read, "For sale, baby carriage; never been used. Apply at this office.
- A 1910 article about a newspaper classified ad that read, "Baby’s hand made trousseau and baby’s bed for sale. Never been used."
- A 1917 literary magazine essay on the power of short stories suggesting the title, "Little Shoes, Never Worn" for a story about "a wife who has lost her baby."
- A 1921 newspaper columnist who used the phrase "Baby carriage for sale, never used" in a piece describing an ad.

Spread

In 2006, SMITH Magazine began the "Six Word Memoir" project, which prompted writers to try and sum up their life in six words, inspired by the Hemingway legend.^[2] The project led to extensive coverage over the following several years in media publications.^[3][4] It also inspired online posts that furthered the popularity of the quote.

On April 3rd, 2008, YouTuber micahsamaniac uploaded a video titled "My Life in 6 Words," in which he sums up his life story as "a roller coaster ride of unbelievable events" and instructs the viewers to share their own six-word memoirs (seen below).

Following the popularity of the "Six Word Memoir" era, parodies of the "Baby Shoes" quote began spreading on social media. These usually took one of two forms: people either added on to the original quote to imply a more humorous context for the "story," or they stated another short piece of writing, perhaps an advertisement or a social media caption, was humorously sadder than the "Baby Shoes" story.

For example, on July 10th, 2013, Twitter user @brianleewow^[5] posted a parody that added an additional line, gaining over 50 retweets and 50 likes in 10 and a half years (shown below, top). On December 10th, Twitter user @dalykyle^[6] posted a short b2b copy advertising new Big K soda packaging, commenting that it was "sadder" than the "baby shoes" story, gaining five retweets and 14 likes in 10 years (shown below, bottom).

The parodies continued this way throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s. More recent viral examples include a July 27th, 2023, Haus of Decline comic that built a short scene around the posting of the "story" online,^[7] gaining over 2,000 retweets and 21,000 likes in nearly one year (shown below, left).

On March 21st, 2024, Twitter user @MattMinicucci^[8] posted a parody featuring a photo of "Baby Choux," gaining over 1,100 retweets and 11,000 likes in five days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References