to fill one's boots

9.1

To enjoy something fully and take as much as you want

idiom

: disfrutar a lo grande

The store is having a huge sale, so go ahead and fill your boots with whatever you like.

Examples

At the buffet, you can fill your boots with all your favorite dishes.
During the festival, it's your chance to fill your boots with delicious treats and fun activities.
Oh, fill your boots.

Rare Birds (2001)

Synonyms

to get my fill

vsto fill one's boots

3 6.6

Have enough of something so you do not want more

is about enjoying as much as possible when given the chance

to get one's fill

vsto fill one's boots

Informal

3.7

Have as much of something as you want until you feel satisfied

is about enjoying as much as possible when given the chance

Antonyms

to refuse

716 1.7

To say no to a request or offer

to spurn

26 7.7

To refuse a person or an offer in a rude way

How Much

to fill one's boots

9.1

to help oneself

72 3.4

to take

∞ 1.0

little bit

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

fill one's boots infinitive

filled one's boots past

filled one's boots past participle

filling one's boots present participle

fills one's boots third person singular

Morphology

fill + one + boots

The literal meanings of 'fill' + 'one's' + 'boots' suggest putting something into footwear, which does not map onto the idiomatic sense of taking as much as you want or enjoying something to excess. This is a colloquial, culture-specific idiom whose intended meaning is not compositionally predictable from its parts, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer it.

Etymology

Fill one's boots may come from soldiers after a battle who would fill their boots with coins and small goods to carry home, so the image of stuffing your boots shows taking a lot. That's why the phrase means 'to take as much as you want' or 'enjoy something fully'.