RAIN ON YOUR PARADE

My friend who just came back from London told me she was so tempted to buy Wellingtons when she was in Camden Market. But another friend didn't know what they were until we told her they were rain boots.



Wellingtons aren't new to me because I've read about them and seen them but it seems like this term is used mainly in the UK and NZ but not in SG which explains why my friend wasn't lexically primed so she didn't know what they were. And the term 'wellingtons' or 'wellies', unlike its US counterpart, 'rain boots', is not as semantically transparent which is probably why it requires some level of explanation.

And as dictionary.com, merriam-webster and longman show, the term 'wellingtons' is used mostly in the UK or NZ.

Dictionary.com
Wellington boot
n.
1. A boot extending to the top of the knee in front but cut low in back.
2. Chiefly British A waterproof boot of rubber or sometimes leather reaching to below the knee and worn in wet or muddy conditions.

Longman dictionary

wel‧ling‧ton also wellington boot [countable]
British English a rubber boot that stops your foot getting wet

Merriam-webster

Main Entry: Wel·ling·ton
Pronunciation: \ˈwe-liŋ-tən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Date: 1817

: a boot having a loose top with the front usually coming to or above the knee —usually used in plural