Boot
A boot is a type of
footwear which covers at least the
foot and usually the
ankle, and sometimes extends up to the knee or even the
hip. They come in every imaginable variation of height, color, material and style. Most have a heel which is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Originally boots were designed to be durable work shoes. While workboots are still common, today there are boots for almost every occasion and setting.
Encyclopedia
A
boot is a type of
footwear which covers at least the
foot and usually the
ankle, and sometimes extends up to the knee or even the
hip. They come in every imaginable variation of height, color, material and style. Most have a heel which is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Originally boots were designed to be durable work shoes. While workboots are still common, today there are boots for almost every occasion and setting.
Different kinds of boots
Boots which are designed for protection from the elements may be made of a single closely-stitched piece to prevent the entry of water, mud or dirt through the gaps left between the laces and the tongue in other types of shoes. Simple waterproof
gumboots are made in different length of uppers and, in extreme cases, thigh-boots called "waders" used by
anglers end at waist-level of the wearer.
Other types of boots are sturdy in nature, meant for protection in wilderness or industrial settings. Specialty boots have been made to temporarily protect steelworkers if they get caught in pools of molten metal; to protect chemical workers from a wide variety of chemical exposure; and there are insulated, inflatable, boots designed for walking in the Antarctic continent. However most work boots are "laceups" made from leather and shod with
hobnails and heel-and toe-plates. Such work boots were adopted by
skinheads and
punks as part of their typical dress, and have migrated from there to more mainstream fashion, including women's wear.
Fashionable boots for women may have all the variations seen in other fashion footwear: tapered or spike heels, platform soles, pointed toes,
zipper closures and the like.
Generally the boots became rare towards the end of the 20th century. Now they are again frequent and particularly types with a long bootleg are common in everyone's armoire, including men and women.
Specialty boots have been designed for many different types of sport, particularly rugby,
football and
soccer, riding,
skiing and
snowboarding, skating, and sporting in wet conditions.
Boots have their own devotees among shoe fetishists and
foot fetishists.
Tall boots, such as those designed for military dress and
horseback riding may have a tab, loop or handle at the top known as a bootstrap, allowing one to use fingers or a tool to provide better leverage in getting the boots on. A German legend about a boy lifting himself by his bootstraps into the air, allowing him to fly, has led to the word's metaphorical use in many different contexts; see bootstrapping and
booting.
Boots in idiom
- Boots, particularly those worn as protective footwear by workers have a reputation for being as hard-wearing as their owners, hence the commonly used simile "tough as old boots".
- A long established cliché of anglers, especially those who are inexperienced or angling in waters known to be poor for fish, is that of the "old boot", caught in place of the expected fish. This can be seen in many cartoons, parodies, etc., and is usually depicted dripping with weeds and with part of the sole detached, giving the impression of an open mouth.
- Another fate of a discarded boot is in the construction of a musical instrument known as the "mendoza".
- To "die with one's boots on" means to die from violence as opposed to from natural causes ; hence Boot Hill as a popular name for Wild West cemeteries.
- Boot camp a colloquial term for the initial training of new recruits enlisting in a military organization.
- "Jackboots" is a general term for combat boots. Stormtroopers, skinheads, and other agents of authority or political strongarm tactics are typically referred to by their detractors as "jackbooted thugs." Authoritarian rule, either by hostile military forces, or by groups of armed intimidators, is imposed by "jackboot tactics."
- To "give someone the boot" means to kick them out , either literally or figuratively.
- To "put the boot in" means to kick someone especially hard, to add additional pain on top of an already hard situation.
- "The boot is on the other foot now" means that a situation has become reversed -- a previous victor is now losing, for example.
Types of boots
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- Spats
- Thigh-high boots
- Ugg boots
- Wedge boots
- Wellington boots http://www.wellie-boots.com/
- Work boots
- Lineman boots
- Logger boots
See also
External links
