Cousin John
English
Alternative forms
- cuz john, cuzjohn, Cuz-John
Etymology
From John (“outhouse; lavatory; chamber pot; toilet”). Possibly derived from a "euphemistic phrase of excuse" (e.g., "visiting my cousin John" or "going to cousin John's house"), similar to modern use of "powdering one's nose", but this is unattested.[1]
Noun
- (US, slang, obsolete) A place or device for urination and defecation: an outhouse or chamber pot.
- 1735, Richard Waldron, "A Freshman Guide", in 1953, William Bentinck-Smith, The Harvard Book, p. 162:
- 20. No freshman shall mingo against the College wall or go into the fellows' cuzjohn.
- 1741, "The Customs of Harvard College", in 1851, John Bartlett, A Collection of College Words and Customs, p. 319:
- 18. No Freshman shall call or throw any thing across the College yard, nor go into the Fellow's Cuz-John.*
- *Abbreviated for Cousin John, i.e. a privy.
- 18. No Freshman shall call or throw any thing across the College yard, nor go into the Fellow's Cuz-John.*
- Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)
- 1735, Richard Waldron, "A Freshman Guide", in 1953, William Bentinck-Smith, The Harvard Book, p. 162:
Synonyms
- john (US); jakes (now chiefly Irish); see also Thesaurus:bathroom and Thesaurus:chamber pot
References
- Quinion, Michael. "John". World Wide Words. 14 November 1998.
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