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slop bowl

slop bowl

9.1
A bowl for holding leftover tea or coffee from cups
  • noun
  • /slɑp boʊl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tazón de desechos
  • After finishing their tea, the guests emptied the remains into the slop bowl provided.

Examples

  • The antique slop bowl was an essential part of the Victorian tea set.

  • The waiter brought a slop bowl for the dregs.

  • She explained the purpose of the slop bowl to her curious grandchildren.

  • Please pass the slop bowl after tea.

  • The waiter placed the slop bowl on the table to collect the leftover tea from the cups.

  • During the tea party, she showed her guests where to pour their leftover tea into the slop bowl.

  • At the end of the meal, they used the slop bowl to gather the dregs from their coffee cups.

Synonyms

bowl
vsslop bowl
370 1.0

A round deep dish with an open top used to hold food or liquid

is used specifically to collect teacup and coffee dregs at the table
slop basin
vsslop bowl
  • Archaic
9.8

A bowl for emptying leftover tea or coffee at the table

has the same function but is often part of a tea set

How Big

slop pail
  • Archaic
9.6
slop basin
  • Archaic
9.8
slop bowl
  • Archaic
9.1
saucer
22 1.0

Surface Forms

slop bowl singular
slop bowls plural

Morphology

slop + bowl

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'slop' (watery kitchen food for animals) with 'bowl' (a dish): a bowl that holds slop. This noun+noun compositional pattern is straightforward and common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Slop bowl comes from slop, a word for watery waste, and bowl. At tea time people poured leftover tea and small bits into one shared dish, so the slop bowl came to mean a bowl for 'dregs' and 'leftovers'.