Past tense of gumshoe; worked as a detective or spy, or sneaked around gathering information.
From 'gumshoe' (a detective), originating from the rubber-soled shoes detectives wore to sneak quietly. The verb describes the action of performing detective work.
A 'gumshoe' is literally someone who wears rubber-soled shoes so they can sneak silently—detectives in the early 1900s needed quiet footwear for surveillance, and the shoe became synonymous with the detective themselves!
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