seven-league boots

English

Tom Thumb stealing a pair of seven-league boots

Noun

seven-league boots pl (normally plural, singular seven-league boot)

1. (folklore, fairy tale) A pair of boots enabling the wearer to cross seven leagues at one stride.
   • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XL, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 211:

     The Count strode away as if he had secured seven-league boots, and in less time than it seemed possible, though it was an age to Lady Anne (...), he returned with two bank of England notes in his hand, which he put into the bailiff's, saying,—"There's your money for yourself and all. You have proper behavour, and will make no say of this littel matter."

Usage notes

• The singular form is rare.

Translations

boots enabling great stride

• Catalan: botes de set llegües f pl
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 七里靴 (qīlǐ xuē)

• Czech: sedmimílové boty f pl
• Dutch: zevenmijlslaarzen (nl) f pl
• Estonian: seitsmepenikoormasaapad pl
• Finnish: seitsemän peninkulman saappaat pl
• French: bottes de sept lieues (fr) f pl
• German: Siebenmeilenstiefel (de) m pl
• Hungarian: hétmérföldes csizma sg
• Icelandic: sjömílnaskór m pl
• Italian: stivali delle sette leghe m pl
• Kazakh: жүрдек етік (jürdek etık)
• Polish: siedmiomilowe buty m pl
• Portuguese: botas de sete léguas f pl
• Russian: сапоги́-скорохо́ды (ru) m pl (sapogí-skoroxódy), семими́льные сапоги́ m pl (semimílʹnyje sapogí)
• Spanish: botas de siete leguas f pl
• Swedish: sjumilastövlar c pl
• Ukrainian: чо́боти-скорохо́ди m pl (čóboty-skoroxódy), семими́льні чо́боти m pl (semymýlʹni čóboty)

Further reading

• seven-league boots on Wikipedia.Wikipedia