The winkle is a small sea snail and, coming from the South East of England, was a popular seafood in our house. My dad used to sing the song "I can't get my winkle out, isn't it a sin" while boiling up winkles in a bucket on the stove. As usual, Americans think they had them first along with everything else in the world but this is definitely an english delicacy - if you can call winkles that!
Contrary to the guy who commented earlier, they don't taste like shit but are quite delicious with vinegar and pepper on. There is nothing quite like a winkle sandwich................
The comment on winkle picker shoes was about the very long pointed toed shoes that we all wore in the 50s and early 60s and they were so called because they were pointed enough to get a winkle out of it's shell.