phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Boot camp

Posted by ESC on August 12, 2007

In Reply to: Boot camp posted by Tala on August 12, 2007

: Boot camp. Anyone know why soldier's basic training is called that?

Here is what one reference says.

Boot camp -- U.S. sailors serving during the Spanish-American War wore leggings called 'boots,' which came to mean 'a navy (or marine) recruit.' These recruits trained in what were called boot camps." "The Facts on File -- Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997). Page 91.

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