2376: boot-camp Jun 20, 2021

The phrase 'boot-camp' can refer to any intense, introductory training course, especially in military contexts. This should come as no surprise therefore that this originated as military slang in the 1940's with the 'boot' in question itself being slang for a new recruit. In particular this was naval slang, and can be attested as far back as the Spanish-American War, with the naval uniform not consisting of boots per se, but of leggings.