bilge water

noun

1. Nautical. bilge ( def 1d ).
2. Also called bilge. Slang. foolish, worthless, or offensive talk or ideas; nonsense; rubbish.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bilge water¹

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

This resembled the old bilge-water of a ship for foulness, but both men and oxen drank of it with avidity.

From Project Gutenberg

Last night was very cold, and this morning there was ice on the lake, and the bilge-water in the boat was frozen solid.

From Project Gutenberg

With the rocking of the boat, the foul bilge-water washed around the child's limbs and back.

From Project Gutenberg

And they say the 'tween-deck and forecastle smells o' bedbugs and bilge-water, and they want their grog.

From Project Gutenberg

Nautica found him, inverted and full of emotion, fishing about in the bilge-water for the lost piece.

From Project Gutenberg