Fill your boots

[kkookk2003]

Hi everybody,

Sometime ago I came across the phrase "Fill your boots", in an audio clip that someone had sent me. Listening to it, I got the impression that it meant something along the lines of - 'Grow up' or 'Get to work' (as in put on your workman's boots and get to work). I found a post on this site about it being a phrase heard at a Canadian buffet table. So, does it simply mean - 'help yourself / dig in', or could the meaning change, depending on the context in which it was used? I wanted to send you the audio clip but wasn't able to upload it.

Regards,

Benjamin

[curmudgeon]

I think it is an invitation to 'help yourself' or similar to saying 'be my guest'

'Come on everybody, fill your boots, the food is on the table.'

[JCrawf]

Originally Posted by kkookk2003

Hi everybody,

Sometime ago I came across the phrase "Fill your boots", in an audio clip that someone had sent me. Listening to it, I got the impression that it meant something along the lines of - 'Grow up' or 'Get to work' (as in put on your workman's boots and get to work). I found a post on this site about it being a phrase heard at a Canadian buffet table. So, does it simply mean - 'help yourself / dig in', or could the meaning change, depending on the context in which it was used? I wanted to send you the audio clip but wasn't able to upload it.

Regards,

Benjamin

In the States we have the expression "fill one's shoes" which might correspond with "fill one's boots." The expression is usually used to indicate a person is going to be hard to replace. For example, "When the dean retires, it's going to be difficult to find someone who can fill his shoes." That's to say that it's going to be difficult to find a successor who possesses all the qualities the dean brings to his job.

[kkookk2003]

Originally Posted by curmudgeon

I think it is an invitation to 'help yourself' or similar to saying 'be my guest'
'Come on everybody, fill your boots, the food is on the table.'

What about in Ireland? Does anyone know whether the phrase has the same meaning there as well?

Ben

[BobK]

Fill your boots isn't the same as fill his shoes (which we also have in the UK), and it (the boots collocation) means a bit more than help yourself - it means help youself using every possible container; I think it was applied originally to pirates plundering a rich prize. I hear it most in cricket commentaries - when a bowling attack is very weak, and the batting side fill their boots by scoring freely (which gets away from the idea of 'containers', but develops the idea of 'easy pickings').

b

[kkookk2003]

Thanks Bob

Is there any way an audio clip can be uploaded as an attachment?

Regards,

Ben

[Daumazhjnn]

I was looking for the origins of this expression myself when I came across this post. It's true that it does generally mean to help oneself, but be aware that in the context of "I was so scared, I filled my boots", it has quite a different, and rather less pleasant implication, which I will leave to your imagination. Sadly, English contains many very similar-sounding expressions with very dissimilar meanings, which compounded with countless social and regional variations, make colloquial English a very difficult thing to understand and/or use unless one is exposed to it over a long period. I live in the north of England, but was born in the Midlands, and frequently have difficulty with the use of English locally, (even as a native English speaker) after living in this area for many years.

Anyone who is trying to learn English as a supplementary language has both my sympathy and my admiration - good luck to you all.