bet your boots

“profit, use,” Old English bot “help, relief, advantage; atonement,” literally “a making better,” from Proto-Germanic *boto (see better (adj.)). Cf. German Buße “penance, atonement,” Gothic botha “advantage.” Now mostly in phrase to boot (Old English to bote).

“start up a computer,” 1975, from bootstrap (v.), a 1958 derived verb from bootstrap (n.) in the computer sense.

“to kick,” 1877, American English, from boot (n.1). Generalized sense of “eject, kick out” is from 1880. Related: Booted; booting.

In addition to the idioms beginning with boot

• boot out
• boot up

also see:

• die with one’s boots on
• get the ax (boot)
• kick (boot) out
• lick someone’s boots
• pull oneself up (by the bootstraps)
• quake in one’s boots
• to boot
• too big for one’s breeches (boots)
• you can bet your ass (boots)

Also see undershoe.