“To boot” in baseball means to commit an error. What is the origin of this, which seems to bear no relationship to the conventional meaning of the word?
WAG here: a lot of errors can be caused by accidentally kicking the ball, or the grounder hitting off the foot. Hence, booting the ball.
According to Lighter, the term “boot” in baseball is first recorded in 1908.
To be “booted” out of something goes back to the 1840’s, but I don’t think this was the immediate predecessor.
There were other phrases in the late 1800’s such as “to put the boot to” meaning to victimize, defeat, etc. That possibly is the predecessor, but Lighter offers no suggestions.
The Dickson Baseball Dictionary puts the first usage of “boot” in the sense of making an error as appearing in print in 1907. It originally was only applied to errors where fielders actually touched the ball with their feet, but quickly picked up a broader definition.
Thanks! What’s Lighter?
Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang edited by J.E.Lighter. Vol I and II are in print A-O. Vol III is forthcoming, someday, we hope, please, etc.
The ultimate modern authority on American Slang.