[Ads-l] Insult: Your mother wears army boots (Your mother, Yo momma)

[mr_peter_morris@outlook.com]

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Casino/QFAJAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22+wore+army+boots%22&dq=%22+wore+army+boots%22&printsec=frontcover


" ... and why she wore Army boots ..."

Appears to be from 1948.  Seeing  the full text might give some
indication as to the meaning and origin. Possibly.





------ Original Message ------
From "ADSGarson O'Toole" 
<00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 18/03/2026 17:33:30
Subject Re: Insult: Your mother wears army boots (Your mother, Yo momma)

>Here is an instance from the family "your mother wears army shoes /
>army boots / combat boots" on August 16, 1947. This slightly antedates
>the September 25, 1947 instance presented on Barry Popik's website.
>
>Date: August 26, 1947
>Newspaper: Oregon Daily Journal
>Newspaper Location: Portland, Oregon
>Article: Mill Ends: Something New in Insults
>Author: Dick Fagan
>Section 2, Quote Page 1, Column 1
>Database: Newspapers.com
>
>https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregon-daily-journal-armyshoes/193663074/
>
>[Begin excerpt]
>Two kids in Guilds Lake were on the outs the other day, and exchanging
>insults at a rapid pace. They worked up to a pitch, and then the
>littlest, shaver comes up with his prime insult: "Oh, your mother
>wears army shoes!
>[End excerpt]
>
>Garson
>
>On Wed, Mar 18, 2026 at 10:16 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
><adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>  In 2024 the radio show of Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, "A Way
>>  with Words", discussed the following phrase. Here are three versions:
>>
>>  Your mother wears combat boots
>>  Your mother wears army boots
>>  Your mother wears army shoes
>>
>>  [Begin excerpt from "A Way with Words" website]
>>  The expressions your mother wears combat boots and your mother wears
>>  army boots descend from the African-American tradition of the Dozens,
>>  also known as sounding or capping or snapping, where people try to top
>>  each other's insults.
>>  [End excerpt from "A Way with Words" website]
>>
>>  Here a link to the audio excerpt:
>>  Date: December 22, 2024
>>https://waywordradio.org/your-mother-wears-combat-boots/
>>
>>  Barry Popik's website has three pertinent entries. The earliest
>>  citation dated May 1, 1948 contains the phrase "Aw your mother wears
>>  army boots.". Here is a link to the clipping from "The Gazette" of
>>  Montreal, Canada:
>>https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-your-mother-wears-army-boot/33382473/
>>
>>  “Your mother wears army boots!” (insult)
>>https://barrypopik.com/blog/your_mother_wears_army_boots
>>
>>  “Your mother wears army shoes!” (insult)
>>https://barrypopik.com/blog/your_mother_wears_army_shoes
>>
>>  “Your mother wears combat boots!” (insult)
>>https://barrypopik.com/blog/your_mother_wears_combat
>>
>>  The phrase "Your mother" by itself can reference the entire notion of
>>  an insult contest. The phrase "Your mother" can also function as a
>>  challenge as indicated in John Dollard's 1939 article titled "The
>>  Dozens: Dialectic of Insult". Dollard's important article is available
>>  via JSTOR:
>>https://www.jstor.org/stable/26301143
>>
>>  [Begin excerpt]
>>  ... a simple reference to "your ma" or "your mother" was a fighting
>>  challenge. The woman herself did not know why one had to fight when
>>  she heard this but did know that fight one must. Perhaps the
>>  repressive influence of class and school had elided from expression
>>  the rest of the Dozens pattern, and we have in the condensed
>>  expression a sort of stump of the full behavior structure.
>>  [End excerpt]
>>
>>  Garson
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org