bootboys

9.9

A young man who wears heavy boots and joins violent football groups

noun
/ˈbuːt.bɔɪz/

Archaic

: chicos de botas

Newspaper headlines frequently blamed bootboys for violence at football matches.

Examples

The distinctive style of bootboys involved suspenders, short jeans, and heavy boots.
In the 1970s, groups of bootboys were often seen gathering outside football stadiums.
The bootboys gathered outside the stadium before the match.
Many bootboys wore their heavy boots with pride.
In the 1970s, groups of bootboys were often seen gathering outside football stadiums.
Newspaper headlines frequently blamed bootboys for violence at football matches.
The distinctive style of bootboys involved suspenders, short jeans, and heavy boots.

Synonyms

bootboy

vsbootboys

1 9.9

A young man in a youth group who wears heavy boots and tough clothes

is a specific late 1960s British subculture linked to violence and hooliganism

Surface Forms

bootboy singular

bootboys plural

Morphology

bootboys = bootboy (semi-transparent) = boot + boy + s

The components 'boot' + 'boy' are obvious, but the specific cultural label and violent/hooligan connotations are not predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Bootboys comes from joining boot and boy, literally 'boys who wear boots', so imagine young men in heavy boots and short hair at football matches. So, bootboys refers to that British youth group known for a tough style and sometimes violence.