Seidlitz powder

British  

/ ˈsɛdlɪts /

noun

1. Also called: Rochelle powder.  a laxative consisting of two powders, tartaric acid and a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and Rochelle salt (sodium potassium tartrate)

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Etymology

Origin of Seidlitz powder

C19: named after Seidlitz, a village in Bohemia with mineral springs having similar laxative effects

Example Sentences

Well, I had to keep calm and attend to business, but I was seething inside like a Seidlitz powder.

From Where There's a Will by Rinehart, Mary Roberts

I should have liked bottled stout, though I did take almost a dislike to it after Patty Smith proposed to give me a Seidlitz powder, for the effervescence put me in mind of it.

From A Fluttered Dovecote by Fenn, George Manville

The bowels should be kept regular by soapsuds injections or by mild cathartics, as a Seidlitz powder.

From The Home Medical Library, Volume I (of VI) by Winslow, Kenelm

Here the man proceeded to mend his pen with great deliberation, while another clerk, who was mixing a Seidlitz powder, under cover of the lid of his desk, laughed approvingly.

From The Pickwick Papers by Dickens, Charles

So keep them as carefully divided as if they were the two parts of a Seidlitz powder.

From Making Good on Private Duty by Lounsbery, Harriet Camp