A narrow strip of land that extends down from a larger territory, shaped like the heel of a boot; specifically refers to the southeastern extension of Missouri.
From 'boot' (footwear) and 'heel' (back part of the foot). The Missouri Bootheel got its name in the 1820s because its shape resembles a boot's heel jutting downward.
Missouri's Bootheel is geographically weird—it extends south into what should be Arkansas, created by a surveying error in 1820 that nobody bothered fixing because too many people already lived there!
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