Slippering (punishment)
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A slippering is a metonymical term for a spanking of the buttocks or a beating of the hands using a slipper or (more often, though then it is a euphemism) firmer footwear, especially gym shoes (part of the school uniform; thus often at hand, in sports the same may go for specific footwear), as the proverbial plimsoll, wielded by hand as a disciplinary implement, especially in Commonwealth countries, in the same manner as a paddle.
It is a form of physical punishment, mainly for children at home or at school, as a milder alternative to caning, birching etcetera, though a 'sound dose' can be more painful then it seems, especially if the impacting sole is solid rubber, a material also used for type of paddle or bludgeon. Generally, in co-ed schools where the worst punishment was the cane, it was used as the punishment for girls, as it was not acceptable to risk scarring young girls. It has also been applied as an informal military spanking by a soldier's comrades, notably in France under the name Savate (meaning footwear, homonymous with French kickboxing).
The analogous word booting (also irrespective of the type of footwear) is rather used for physical discipline given 'hands free' with the boot (or other footwear) on the discipliners foot, so the punishee usually is to submit to the punishment (generally on the posterior) in a low position. The humilitation is still increased if (s)he must do so over the knee, on all four, kneeling or crawling, or by wearing demeaning dress, only underwear or even bare-butt.
Feeling the boots of the lined-up crew has also been used as a naval variation of running the gauntlet, less painful then a whipping (on the back, e.g. with knotted cords) but rather more humiliating.
