GARDYLOO

Etymology

Interjection

gardyloo

(Scotland, obsolete) Used by people in medieval Scotland to warn passers-by of waste about to be thrown from a window into the street below. The term was still in use as late as the 1930s and 1940s, when many people had no indoor toilets.

Noun

gardyloo (plural gardyloos)

(Scotland, historical) A cry of "gardyloo".

An act of discarding waste or some other substance from a height. Also attributive and figurative.

(figurative) Caution, warning.

Source: Wiktionary


Gar`dy*loo", n. Etym: [F. gare l'eau beware of the water.]

Definition: An old cry in throwing water, slops, etc., from the windows in Edingburgh. Sir. W. Scott.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 May 2025

MINESHAFT

(noun) excavation consisting of a vertical or sloping passageway for finding or mining ore or for ventilating a mine


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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