Boots

noun BOOTS buːts mild

Also spelled boot, rubbers

Besides footwear, 'boots' is slang for a condom — 'wear yuh boots' means use protection. Popularised by safe-sex campaigns and dancehall, it frames protection as a piece of gear you put on before the act, and it is more coy and jokey than crude. Documented here for comprehension, it belongs to the everyday, half-humorous talk of sex and safety, a common euphemism heard in songs and warnings alike. The playful image of pulling on your 'boots' has made it a well-known and relatively decent way to speak of the condom.

  • Always wear yuh boots — protect yuhself.

    Always use a condom — protect yourself.

  • Nuh ride widout boots.

    Don't have sex without protection.

  • Di clinic gi out free boots.

    The clinic gives out free condoms.

A euphemism casting the condom as protective 'boots' you put on; spread by safe-sex messaging and dancehall.

A coy slang term for a condom ('wear yuh boots' = use protection); also the literal footwear. Safe-sex context.