Question: I need help with the connotation of the phrase *flip flop*. Let me explain – I am working on a small project that is meant to promote travelling and education through travelling and getting to know other cultures. I have to come up with a catchy name for it. “Flip-flop nation” came to mind but I was wondering if used in this way the phrase carries the right emotional association. I know that *flip flop* also has several negative meanings.

I would appreciate any insight on this subject.

Answer: 
I would associate the phrase *Flip-flop nation* with the sort of poverty illustrated here...

![Poverty in the Congo](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fSzIA.jpg)

...where it's implied that the entire nation is only shod in flip-flops, if that. I suppose that this depend on the understanding of *flip-flop,* which I take to be the rather fetching pink footwear at the bottom-left of the picture (as opposed to electronic devices or politicians).

Consequently the phrase is undesirable. You would be contrasting the affluence of those who can afford to visit far-flung places with the inhabitants of those countries.

(Image from *[What Shoes Gotta Do With It?](http://www.endingextremepoverty.org/2011/02/what-shoes-gotta-do-with-it.html)*, purely as an illustration, not a political statement)
*Flip-flops*, as you probably know, are a kind of footwear worn without socks and of which one part passes between the big toe and the adjacent toe. The name comes from the way in which the sole oscillates between the ground and the sole of the foot. They are known in some places as thongs. Some British politicians have used the term to suggest the inconstancy of opponents. On the whole, it has connotations of triviality and is, I’d have thought, best avoided for any serious purpose.