house of office en · NOUN
Etymology
From the mostly archaic sense of office as a "duty" or "function" and hence unmentionable "bodily functions".
Meanings
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(euphemistic, obsolete) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
The very clerks—those somewhat dirty springs Of office, or the House of Office.
1823, Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto XI, §xl, ll. 123 f:I never, since I left England, till now, have regal'd Myself with a good house of Office... the holes in Germany are... too round, chiefly owing... to the broader bottoms of the Germans.
1764 August 5, David Garrick, letterGoing down my cellar to look, I put my foot into a heap of turds, by which I find that Mr Turner’s house of office is full and comes into my cellar, which doth trouble me; but I will have it helped.
1660 20 October, Samuel Pepys, diary
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| houses of office | Number=Plur | lexicographic |