# An otherwise normal man with holes in his socks - how weird? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777 "2012-10-05T05:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/41 "2012-10-05T14:34:27Z")
My toenails are apparently razor-sharp sock destroyers. No sock can long last against them. If I threw my socks out every time they developed a hole, I’d have a truly outrageous sock budget. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/42 "2012-10-05T14:51:48Z")
[David Brenner] _If the shoe fits…_ [/David Brenner] I buy a lot of socks and am always looking for an excuse to ‘high grade’ that drawer so more than likely there gone as soon as anything resembling a hole develops. There’s little as annoying to me as an ill fitting sock too so the notion of a toe sticking through one is something I’ll consciously avoid. That picture of Wolfowitz is hilarious and kudos if you recognize the Brenner reference. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/43 "2012-10-05T15:03:53Z")
Just wait until you see their underwear. As Seinfeld says, men will wear underwear until they are reduced down to a few molecules. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/44 "2012-10-05T15:05:59Z")
I don’t think it’s weird; it’s probably just due to being forgetful and/or lazy. I’m guilty of this myself. If an otherwise perfectly good sock develops a hole I’ll want to sew it closed to get more wear out of the sock. However, most often I’ll notice the hole while getting ready for work in the morning, which is of course not the best time to sew up a sock. So I’ll wear it anyway (and maybe change sides so that the big toe hole is now on the pinky toe where it won’t stick out). But then I’ll forget about it when I take it off, or I’ll see it again but want to wash it before I sew it. And then I’ll either forget about it again or not be in the mood to sew a sock when I’m in the midst of putting away my laundry. Eventually I’ll notice that several socks have holes and I’ll have a sock sewing party for myself, meaning I’ll plop down in front of the TV with a beer or two and finally sew up those socks. Note that I only do this with colored dress socks, not athletic socks. With those, which are all pretty much the same, I’ll just pitch the holey sock and have a sock that doesn’t get used until another one gets a hole and frees up a mate. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/45 "2012-10-05T15:26:55Z")
I’d say for athletic socks, no big deal. Dress or business socks, bigger deal. I used to be the same way, a hole here or there didn’t bother me. Until I started traveling a lot for work. Taking your shoes off for security and having your big toe punching through your sock is a bit embarrassing. And if you have a hole in the heel, it’s usually indicative of normal wear for a sock you’ve had a while. A whole in the big toe? Cut your toenails more often. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/46 "2012-10-05T15:32:47Z")
No holes allowed. As soon as I find a hole, if it’s a matched pair they both get thrown in the wastebasket. If it’s a sock that I have many of, then just the one gets pitched. I don’t know if it’s weird, but as has been pointed out, socks are cheap. Especially if all you wear are athletic socks. If you have a visible hole in your dress socks, you shouldn’t be wearing them any more than you would wear a shirt with a stain on the front, or pants with a rip in the knee. But new socks! Wait…are holes in socks ‘hipster’? ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/47 "2012-10-05T15:38:33Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > It’s not that I think it’s weird, but I do think that socks full of holes imply that the wearer is too lazy or too poor to buy decent socks when old ones start to fall apart. A single toe hole isn’t as big a deal to me, because that can happen over the course of the day and there’s not much you can do about it unless you carry a spare pair. But threadbare, worn socks? Just buy new ones! In addition to too lazy or too poor, I think there is a third category of completely indifferent or unaware, which my FIL would fall into. While visiting him recently somehow we got on the topic of socks and how those “no show” socks have gained in popularity. He thought it was odd because these “young guys” at work wearing them with their business casual look like they aren’t wearing any socks at all. Meanwhile on the morning that we leave he is getting ready to go to work and I look at his feet and notice that he appeared to be wearing said socks because I could see his achilles tendon. Then I noticed, no, that was just a giant hole that left his entire heel up to the ankle bone exposed! And these were just cheap white athletic socks that he wears irrespective of the rest of his outfit, not some special pair that he picked out. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/48 "2012-10-05T15:41:06Z")
Just one tiny hole, not weird at all. It would be “maybe a tad strange” for a guy to _not_ have any of his socks have holes in them at all. Heck, if a guy had a tiny hole in all of his socks I still don’t know if it would be a tad strange (although _that_ would count as a tad strange for a female, but in an objective statistical way rather than a judgmental way. One hole in one of their socks wouldn’t be weird at all either.) Now, if a significant portion of his socks were relatively tattered (i.e. multiple holes or a hole big enough to stick multiple toes through,) then it would count as various answers other than “not weird at all” depending on its severity. ---
**Author:** ![jem\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@jem\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jem_1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/49 "2012-10-05T15:49:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m a woman - Maybe a tad strange, but okay I have super sensitive skin and hate the sensation of some part of my foot sticking to the inside of my shoe because of a sock hole. ☹ My husband’s holey athletic socks end up in the rag bag. Great for dusting… I wear one over my hand like a glove. When I was a kid, my mom would darn my socks with the scratchiest thread imaginable. I hated wearing darned socks. (Though I thought the wood darning tool was pretty neat. Can you still buy those things?) ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/50 "2012-10-05T16:18:17Z")
Male, not weird at all. There’s no reason to throw away a sock that still works. I’m pretty sure that I don’t own a pair of socks that doesn’t have a hole somewhere as I have had nearly all of them for over 5 years. Socks are good until they no longer stay up on the leg. Then they’re annoying as hell and need to be destroyed (and replaced). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/51 "2012-10-05T16:20:33Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > One claimed that if she didn’t know me, she’d think it was a sign of a mental health disorder. Being weirded out by holey socks strikes me as having at least as good a claim of being a sign of a mental health disorder (OCD?) as wearing them. IMHO, wearing socks with holes, and refusing to wear socks with holes, are both well within the range of “normal.” I myself was far less picky about the condition of my socks back when I was poorer, especially on days when there was little chance of anyone else seeing me without my shoes on. Nowadays, when my socks get holes in them, I’ll usually throw 'em out, especially if the holes are on the bottom (danger of blisters, you know), but I might keep them as emergency backup socks (kind of like I do with raggier or less comfortable underwear). The real dilemma is, if I get a hole in a sock, do I throw out the pair, or just the one with the hole? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/52 "2012-10-05T16:25:15Z")
It’s only weird if the person wearing the sock is bothered by it but wears it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/53 "2012-10-05T16:37:15Z")
If you think holes in socks makes a man strange then you don’t want to see the things I’ve seen in locker rooms. Many men don’t ever throw away underwear, they wait for them to disintegrate on their own. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Topologically, a sock is the same as a handkerchief or a bowler hat, but none of that helps keep your feet warm. The topological problem is easy enough to fix with scissors. That is, if you worry about the topology of your socks. If you are that type, I pray you never get a hole in a jumpsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/54 "2012-10-05T17:46:10Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > In addition to too lazy or too poor, I think there is a third category of completely indifferent or unaware Yeah. I think a lot of the people who chalk holes up to laziness aren’t getting that a lot of guys with holes in their socks _aren’t bothered and don’t care_. It’s not laziness and it’s not frugality; it’s just something that doesn’t bother us. If the hole got to the point that it bothered me, I’d throw it out. It just doesn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/55 "2012-10-05T21:28:22Z")
I think it’s very low-class to display one’s holey socks in public. It signals either extreme poverty or extreme lack of attention to personal care and hygiene. Either way, I don’t want to date you. When I see a holey sock on a guy, the reaction I have is functionally equivalent to seeing a pair of ratty, old streaky, threadbare underpants. GROSS. Once a sock or bra or underpant develops a hole, it’s \*past \*time to throw it away. I can understand if you’re a broke college student and it’s necessary to cut corners, because I’ve been there myself. But I’m past that phase of my life now, and I don’t date broke college students anymore. I almost never wear socks anyway, since I wear either flip flops or business flats out and go sockless/shoeless at home (on cold days I might wear slippers, but no socks). My socks are in absolutely pristine condition for the few times I wear them. If a clean sock comes out of the dryer with even a hint of threadbareness, or is anything less than perfectly white, I will pitch it. They cost a whopping 50 cents each, I can afford it. From my point of view, it’s FAR better for broke people to go commando/sockless than to wear holey undies or socks out of the house. I have no problem with bare nads or feet. Yes, I realize that I’m more obsessed about the condition of socks and underwear than average. It might even be pathological. I reserve the right to be spergy about a few things in my life! =) ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/56 "2012-10-05T22:54:09Z")
I voted “It’s not weird at all” If they are a pair of socks that I particularly like (yes, I’m a man, and I have ‘favorite’ pairs of socks) then I’ll still wear them as long as the hole doesn’t make the socks uncomfortable. If i’m kind ‘meh’ about the socks, then I’ll throw them out. Unless I’ve already got one one when I notice the hole in the second one; then I’ll probably be too lazy to take that one off and start the _whole thing_ all over again… ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/57 "2012-10-05T23:21:43Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I tend to get holes in the toe since my left foot is a tad longer than my right foot and it rubs against the toe of my shoe. Since I primarily wear either black or white socks, I buy them by the bag and I get rid of the holey ones, wearing the rest till they get holey. Since they’re all the same style, I don’t end up with odd socks till the very end! 😃 This. 😛 I can’t stnd holes in my socks, 'cause I can feel them, and I’d be embarrassed if someone saw them. But hell, I’m wearing mismatching socks right now because I couldn’t be arsed to sort my socks from the laundry this morning, and they both are from my ‘fluffy sock’ collection, so they match in feel. And they do complement each other color-wise, so I’m good, right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/58 "2012-10-05T23:24:51Z")
> [@jem\_1](#): > > When I was a kid, my mom would darn my socks with the scratchiest thread imaginable. I hated wearing darned socks. (Though I thought the wood darning tool was pretty neat. Can you still buy those things?) Google says [Yes!](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=wood+darning+tool&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&biw=1262&bih=817&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=EGxvUIXjFuThiwK3nYHwDg) ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/59 "2012-10-05T23:27:15Z")
Not weird. Holes happen. I find socks with holes terribly uncomfortable and unless they were super special socks that could be easily mended, I would throw them out. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777/60 "2012-10-06T00:26:28Z")
Holes in the _socks?_ Not a day goes by at work I don’t see a man with a hole in his _shoe_ and he’s still wearing it! Then again, I’m a cobbler, so my sample might not be statistically normal. Pretty common - if he doesn’t take his shoes off how would you know anyhow? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-otherwise-normal-man-with-holes-in-his-socks-how-weird/636777.md?page=4)