sly-boots

sly-boots
   Applied to a cunning or sly person since the eighteenth century. It may originally have been insulting but in modern use is almost complimentary. Webster’s Dictionary interestingly explains it as a person ‘who is sly in an engaging way’. There was at one time a parallel ‘smooth-boots’, used for what in modern times would be called a smoothie. Like Any Other Man, by Patrick Boyle, has a woman saying to a man: ‘That’ll do now, slyboots. You’re fooling nobody.’

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

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  • sly|boots — «SLY BOOTS», noun. a sly, cunning, or crafty person …   Useful english dictionary

  • Sly boots — Boot Boot, n. [OE. bote, OF. bote, F. botte, LL. botta; of uncertain origin.] 1. A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg, ordinarily made of leather. [1913 Webster] 2. An instrument of torture for the leg, formerly used to extort… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sly-boots — …   Useful english dictionary

  • sly — c.1200, from O.N. sloegr cunning, crafty, sly, from P.Gmc. *slogis (Cf. Low Ger. slu cunning, sly ), probably from base *slog hit (see SLAY (Cf. slay)), with an original notion of able to hit. Cf. Ger. verschlagen cunning, crafty, sly,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Boots and saddles — Boot Boot, n. [OE. bote, OF. bote, F. botte, LL. botta; of uncertain origin.] 1. A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg, ordinarily made of leather. [1913 Webster] 2. An instrument of torture for the leg, formerly used to extort… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • boots —    This was the name for the servant in an inn or hotel whose job was to clean the boots of the customers. He was summoned or addressed by his professional title. The term is often found as a vocative in eighteenth and nineteenth century… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • slyboots — sly•boots [[t]ˈslaɪˌbuts[/t]] n. (used with a sing. v.) cvb an engagingly sly or mischievous person • Etymology: 1690–1700 …   From formal English to slang

  • Anachronox — Infobox VG title = Anachronox caption = North American box art developer = Ion Storm Inc. publisher = Eidos Interactive ( North America ) Eidos GmbH ( Europe ) Infogrames ( Australia ) designer = Tom Hall| engine = Modified Quake II engine… …   Wikipedia

  • Boot — Boot, n. [OE. bote, OF. bote, F. botte, LL. botta; of uncertain origin.] 1. A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg, ordinarily made of leather. [1913 Webster] 2. An instrument of torture for the leg, formerly used to extort confessions …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Boot catcher — Boot Boot, n. [OE. bote, OF. bote, F. botte, LL. botta; of uncertain origin.] 1. A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg, ordinarily made of leather. [1913 Webster] 2. An instrument of torture for the leg, formerly used to extort… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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