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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for searching, Peter. I am not sure, but the phrase with "army
boots" does not seem to be an insult.

Date: 2004 (First published 1948 by Phoenix House)
Book Title: The Casino
Author: Margaret Bonham
Chapter: The Miss
Start Page 129, Quote Page 139
Publisher: Persephone Books, London
Database: Internet Archive

[Begin excerpt]
Lucy was so engrossed in wondering why the maid was unwelcome (most
people being only too pleased if their general helps got in
unaccompanied and cold sober by the small hours), why it was necessary
to insist she wouldn’t burst into sitting-rooms, and why she wore Army
boots, that she found her glass filled up before she could muster any
excuse.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Mar 18, 2026 at 11:07 PM mr_peter_morris at outlook.com
<mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> 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
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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