ditchwater

English

Alternative forms

• ditch-water

Etymology

From ditch +‎ water.

Noun

ditchwater (usually uncountable, plural ditchwaters)

1. The stagnant water that collects in a ditch.
   • 1846, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Christmas Banquet”, in Mosses from an Old Manse:

     The company, therefore, took their places, and addressed themselves to the serious business of the feast, but were soon disturbed by the hypochondriac, who thrust back his chair, complaining that a dish of stewed toads and vipers was set before him, and that there was green ditchwater in his cup of wine.

Derived terms

• dull as ditchwater