night soil
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Often in exchange for a fee paid to each household, farmers collected what was called night soil at regular intervals to fashion into fertile compost.
From Salon • Dec. 21, 2021
The problems of chamber pots — also known as “jerries, night soil, commodes, slop jars, close stools and thunder mugs” — also contributed to this noisome mix.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2016
Companies such as Clivus Multrum supply not only the toilet and the composter, but also a service of emptying it, just like the night soil men did 200 years ago.
From The Guardian • Jul. 15, 2014
The Japanese were sensitive to the handling of pathogens, and they knew how to compost the night soil before they used it on plants.
From Scientific American • Apr. 5, 2013
For days the family either walked to the fields or used the night soil buckets.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
