courtesy flush

1 7.9

An extra toilet flush to reduce smell in a shared bathroom

noun

Informal

: descarga de cortesía

Examples

Hey, buddy, how about a courtesy flush, huh?

Stan Helsing (2009)
How about a courtesy flush over there?

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
To keep the restroom smelling fresh, don't forget to do a courtesy flush after using the toilet.
Before leaving the bathroom, she always performs a courtesy flush to ensure it stays clean for the next user.
He quickly gave a courtesy flush to minimize any odors before exiting the restroom.

Surface Forms

courtesy flush singular

courtesy flushes plural

Morphology

courtesy + flush

The meaning is directly compositional: 'courtesy' (an act of consideration) modifies 'flush' (to flush a toilet), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is an extra flush done out of politeness to reduce odors or be considerate. This follows regular English modifier + noun logic and is likely cross-linguistically transparent as a polite action, so prior exposure is not required.

Etymology

Courtesy flush The term courtesy flush comes from the simple act of giving an extra flush while still on the toilet as a sign of courtesy, to hide the smell for the next person. So it now means 'an extra flush to be polite'.