white coal

American  

noun

1. Informal. water, as of a stream, used for power.

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white coal British  

noun

1. water, esp when flowing and providing a potential source of usable power

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Etymology

Origin of white coal

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

He used white coal ash for the lines.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 12, 2023

It features both the Carter Family’s foundational rural twang and Mississippi John Hurt’s sweet blues music; and mixes Southern Black jug bands with banjo-playing white coal miners.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2020

It generally takes the stranger by surprise to see a grateful of white coal burning brightly, and throwing out smoke at the same time.

From The Land of the Kangaroo Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through the Great Island Continent by Knox, Thomas Wallace

There is surely enough "white coal" rushing by us to turn the wheels of the factories of a continent.

From The New North by Cameron, Agnes Deans

Hence the waterfalls are sometimes termed the "white coal" of that country.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.