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Glite Dictionary
potty dance

potty dance

6.9
A child moving and fidgeting because they need to go to the toilet right away
  • noun
translation icon : baile del orinal
  • The toddler did a funny potty dance when he needed to go.

Examples

  • Whenever their son does the potty dance, his parents know it's time for a bathroom break.

  • The little girl began doing the potty dance as soon as she realized she needed to go.

  • He was so focused on his potty dance that he almost missed the teacher's question.

  • Is that a potty dance I see?

  • The little girl began doing the potty dance as soon as she realized she needed to go.

  • Whenever their son does the potty dance, his parents know it's time for a bathroom break.

  • He was so focused on his potty dance that he almost missed the teacher's question.

Synonyms

pee-pee dance
vspotty dance
  • Baby Talk
1 9.9

A small dance children do when they really need to pee

is a playful sign of urgent need to use the toilet more broadly

How Urgent

potty dance
6.9
fidget
8 5.1

Surface Forms

potty dance singular
potty dances plural

Morphology

potty + dance

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'potty' (a toddler's toilet) with 'dance' (a movement) to describe a fidgety or playful movement signaling the need to use the toilet. This is a straightforward, compositional noun phrase and parallels cross-linguistic ways of describing restless movements when needing the toilet, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase potty dance comes from the picture of a child who can't wait to use the potty and starts moving, crossing their legs, or hopping like a little dance. So, potty dance now means 'a funny movement that shows someone really needs to go to the bathroom'.