dunny can
- noun
- Australian
:
inodoro portátil
- Please make sure the dunny can is emptied before the next visitors arrive.
Examples
-
We had to carry the dunny can a long way to the collection point.
-
The farm used a dunny can system before indoor plumbing was installed.
-
We need to empty the dunny can before the party.
-
The dunny cans were set up for the outdoor festival.
-
The festival provided several dunny can facilities for the guests camping on site.
-
During our camping trip, we relied on a portable dunny can for our bathroom needs.
-
The construction crew set up a dunny can for workers on the job site.
Synonyms
182
9.6
A casual word for a toilet
49
2.8
A public room with a toilet for people to use
29
9.9
A toilet in informal speech
26
5.8
A simple shared toilet used outdoors or in a camp
12
9.9
A small outdoor toilet in a separate building
7
5.5
A portable toilet used at a bedside for people who cannot reach a bathroom
7
6.8
A bathroom seat people use to pass waste from their body
1
9.9
An outdoor toilet often in a small building behind a house
A toilet without water that uses bacteria to break down waste
A toilet in a public place that anyone can use
How Sanitary
- UK
275
1.0
- Australian
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'portable toilet' follows directly from combining 'dunny' (an informal/outdoor toilet) with 'can' (colloquial term for a restroom or container), so the overall sense is a straightforward compositional blend of two synonyms. This redundant, informal noun compound is cross-linguistically predictable and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Dunny can comes from old outdoor toilets: dunny was a common word for an outside 'toilet' and can meant the removable container used to hold waste. So the clear image of a small can you carry and empty explains why it means 'a portable toilet' today.