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Tongue

The tongue of a shoe is a piece of material that is attached to the vamp of the shoe and extends outward toward the throat. The eyelets and shoelaces themselves rest on top of the tongue so that they don't press up against the top of the foot. The tongue can be made of leather or another type of synthetic material and serves as padding to the top of the foot. In order to put a shoe on, you would first have to pull the tongue out of the shoe so that the foot will easily fit under the tongue. Often times, the material used on the upper of a shoe isn't the same type of material used in the inner construction of the shoe, so the tongue provides a barrier between the upper and the foot itself.

Some athletic shoe manufacturers have constructed special shoe tongues to form a specific function. Asics makes an anti-gravel shoe tongue that prevents clay from accumulating inside of the shoe while running. The shoe tongue is never decorated because it practically becomes invisible once the shoe has been tied. The tongue is where the Nike swoosh would be stitched and/or other symbols that denote the shoe's brand.