English Reference
Idiom idiom

slop out


To throw out the waste from the chamberpot in a prison cell or a similar waste receptacle.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The prisoners must slop out their cells every morning.

CONTEXTUAL

In the old prison, the inmates were required to slop out their buckets before they were allowed to leave for breakfast.

COMPLEX

The harsh conditions of the nineteenth-century jail forced the prisoners to slop out their cramped quarters in a daily, dehumanizing ritual.


Related idioms1entry
  1. 01

    slop bowl

    One of the four components of the traditional tea set. Tea drinkers emptied their unwanted, cold tea into the slop bowl before refilling their cups with fresh, hot tea.

Last updated August 10, 2026