Talk:shithouse

shithouse
rfv-sense: "(Australian, vulgar, colloquial) an outside toilet. Such facilities are generally bad, and thus the term 'shithouse' was created.  Unlike some conjoined words, this term does not imply a collaboration of the two terms, shit and house. Shit is used to imply the low quality or distastefullness, and house is to emphasise the large and enclosed nature of the facility. Used in situations of disgust, hatred or badness."

The psychology described above doesn't fit with my experience. I also thought that shithouse was more widely used to just mean "outhouse", perhaps conveying a pejorative sense of the condition of said facility. I will have moved the lengthy material to a usage note, but am not sure of its accuracy. DCDuring 23:40, 11 November 2007 (UTC)


 * The pejorative sense in my experience is conveyed by describing (eg) a slum apartment as a "cesspit" or a "shit hole" (meaning the hole beneath the outhouse). --Una Smith 05:38, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Definitely means an outside toilet, especially one using a can to collect waste and not connected to the sewer system. Widespread usage (although not in polite company). --Dmol 17:43, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

To an American, in the shithouse can mean literally in the outhouse. But it also can mean you are in trouble with (eg) your wife and metaphorically you have been banned from her bed / bedroom / house. Being in the shithouse is worse than being in the doghouse. --Una Smith 05:36, 20 November 2007 (UTC)