night soil
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of night soil
First recorded in 1765–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This strategy became necessary after an errant tomato plant sprouted from a visitor's night soil back in the 1960s.
From Scientific American • Oct. 19, 2023
Often in exchange for a fee paid to each household, farmers collected what was called night soil at regular intervals to fashion into fertile compost.
From Salon • Dec. 21, 2021
The problems of chamber pots — also known as “jerries, night soil, commodes, slop jars, close stools and thunder mugs” — also contributed to this noisome mix.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2016
Companies such as Clivus Multrum supply not only the toilet and the composter, but also a service of emptying it, just like the night soil men did 200 years ago.
From The Guardian • Jul. 15, 2014
“Did you know that potatoes are fed night soil so they can grow big?”
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
