A boot boy, often simply boots, was an English household servant. Usually a boy or young teenager, the boots was the lowest-ranking male servant; his main job was to clean, polish and care for the household members' boots and shoes, although he may have done other odd jobs as well, particularly in smaller houses where he may have also performed the duties of the hallboy. One contemporary use of the term appears in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 Sherlock Holmes novel ''A Study in Scarlet'': “ nspector Lestradereached Halliday's Private Hotel, in Little George Street... The Boots volunteered to show imthe room.” (Chapter VII) The term is used in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, to refer to apprentices looking after the

football boot Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the outsole to aid grip. From simple and humble beginnings football ...

s of senior professionals.

References

Domestic work Association football terminology Gendered occupations {{job-stub