Meaning & use
suited and booted
Last updated
UK/ˈsuːtɪd ənd ˈbuːtɪd/
US/ˈsuːtɪd ənd ˈbuːtɪd/
Meaning
phraseidiomhumorous
Dressed smartly and ready to go to an important event, usually in formal clothes.
Grammar: Used after a verb, as in he arrived suited and booted.
Patterns
- be suited and booted
- get suited and booted
He turned up at the interview suited and booted.
Everyone was suited and booted for the wedding.
Give me ten minutes and I'll be suited and booted.
Common combinations
- all suited and booted
- The ushers were all suited and booted.
- get suited and booted
- I need to get suited and booted for the dinner.
- arrive suited and booted
- The guests arrived suited and booted.
- look suited and booted
- The footballers looked suited and booted on the coach.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dressed up
- Dressed up is the neutral everyday choice and does not carry the playful tone of suited and booted.
- smartly dressed
- Smartly dressed is plain and more formal, with no humor.
- dressed to the nines
- Dressed to the nines suggests very glamorous clothes, while suited and booted just means neat and ready.
Opposites
dressed downscruffy
Word family
Commonly confused: suited and booted or booted out?
suited and booted vs booted out
Booted out means forced to leave, which is unrelated to clothes.
Practice
The whole team turned up for the awards dinner, all ___.
Choose one answer.
Suited and booted means smartly dressed. The other idioms describe tested, working or settled things.
Make it your own
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