"boots on the ground"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 9/26/2014 09:55 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

>If I hear this phrase again I'm going to scream. In fact, I might as well
>do it now and get it over with.
>
>Ah, back to normal. Jake Tapper and his guests managed to say "boots on the
>ground" *eight* times in less than two minutes, which averages out to one
>boot roughly every seven seconds.

Proves that the U.S. is heading for a massive re-engagement.


>http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/24/roundtable-more-u-s-ground-troops-likely/
>
>(Read the text for the three additional "boots on the ground.")
>
>Plus. OED actually wants to link the "boot" in "boots on the ground" with
>def. 1d, namely "A recruit at a boot camp."  So what these people  are
>"really" talking about, I mean etymologically, is "untrained recruits on
>the ground."   Make sense? It does to somebody.
>
>The service paper "Stars and Stripes" adds that "boots on the ground" is
>"slang."   How would that be?

Because it confused "slang" with "metaphor"?

Joel

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