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Cousin John

noun

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.

Definitions

  1. A place or device for urination and defecation

    A place or device for urination and defecation: an outhouse or chamber pot.

    • 20. No freshman shall mingo against the College wall or go into the fellows' cuzjohn.
    • 18. No Freshman shall call or throw any thing across the College yard, nor go into the Fellow's Cuz-John.*
    • American males often used British terms such as Cousin John or Jake to refer to a privy or a chamber pot.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for Cousin John. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA