Specific Excrement

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And let's hope it's the last.

Probably the first time I have seen meconium and "deliciously" in the same sentence.

Meconium is deliciously specific :-)

I imagine khepri as the kheper of this list.

Thanks bilby. I thought about adding dingleberry and dag, but just can't see my way clear. They're not specific poo so much as poo stuck to fur or, more usually, wool. In that sense they're specific as to location upon an animal, but not as to the type of animal or poo itself. In other words... not specific enough.

That said... I had no idea about the word clegnut. I did not find it in the OED! Also found out that dag has about seventeen meanings, some of them verbs. Bizarre.

There are a few words which relate to a piece of poo stuck to an animal's backside ... isn't fur a wonderful thing? Dingleberry comes to mind. Clegnut, possibly with double 'g'. And there's a more formal kind of term which escapes me right now.

And we owe it all to you. :-D

If there is one, though, at least we have a list we can add it to. Thank heaven that work has been done.

I would agree with you there c_b - batshit and apeshit are used as adjectives (I think that's the right POS) describing people's states of mind, not nouns for the shit of the actual animal in question. Batshit would be guano, not sure if there's a specific term for ape shit.

I am beginning to wonder if, despite the slanginess of them, batshit and apeshit belong here.

I'm thinking no, because despite what you *think* when breaking down those compound words, as slang terms they, like "suck," don't really refer to the physical objects that the separate component words normally denote.

So... no.

I'm glad I answered my own question so publicly.

I think it's time I bow out now.

Eesh. *mutters while walking away*

Oh, depending on the type of excrement, I guess I'd burnish it myself. If I have, you know, those long rubber gloves that go up to your shoulders, that veterinarians use to reach into... Well. I'd burnish my own tiara. I'm no elitist.

In other news, I'm putting out an APB now for a word that means, specifically, bear poo. Or even chained bear poo. (Sionnach, that's your cue to come up with some brilliant creation, e.g. cephalopygian. :) ) But NOT chained_bear poo. That's just gross.

But...who would you get to burnish it?

c_b: Paradoxically, I've heard that storing one's tiara in a jar of suitably chosen animal excrement is an excellent way of keeping it free of unsightly blemishes, and allows it to be burnished to a warm glowing sheen*.

*: more likely to be Martin than Charlie, at a guess.

</ totally frivolous comment>

Thanks! *adjusts tiara* I consider it honor aplenty that this comments list is SO LONG. People must really be interested in poo!

Also, I noticed that "fiants" is already on my list, and the OED has defined that as "the dung of certain animals, e.g. badger, etc." But I added the spellings of "feance" and "fuants" as well, with "see also" notes on those pages. Hey, it's only fair. If you're looking for just the right word to describe, say, badger dung, you ought to be given options for how to spell it.

Oh, by the way--you come up 4th on the Google search for "animal excrement words." Be proud.

No. No I can't verify them. Unless, of course, you pay me.

Oh, all right. I don't feel up to eating a cookie right now anyway. I believe buttons, crotiles, crotisings, and lesses are collective nouns, so it's probably not "proper" to singularize them. And according to OED, fuants was once spelled "feance," so all bets are off on that one.

Now if you'll excuse me, I feel the need for a shower.

Eeyew. So where did you find... oh. Nevermind.

Actually, can you verify that the ones with S's are actually spelled that way in the singular? I'll add them.

Okay, I have more, but only if you don't ask where I found them (it's too embarrassing): buttons (sheep dung), crotiles or crotisings (hare droppings), lesses (boar, bear, or wolf doo-doo), billitting (fox drops), and last but most assuredly not least, fuants (any vermin excrement).

You're welcome. Enjoy your lunch.

Hey! Watch the hair! :-P

Aah, don't frass yourself, reesetee. *gives noogie* We buds.

Gosh, c_b, I just don't know what to say. *tears of gratitude* I'm just happy you feel better. That's what's important, after all. A person has to feel good about specific excrement.

I feel better about that now. I thought you should know. And just to show there are no hard feelings, I'm adding crappucino too.

Okay--crappé? But scumber is added with resentment??

Yeah. I know.

I don't know how I feel about you not knowing how you feel about dung.

I added it, but I'm resentful about it. It isn't a specific type of poo, it's just dung... I don't know how I feel about that.

At the risk of starting a fracas, I have another word for this stercoraceous list: scumber (dogs and foxes). Jennarenn, maybe you can use this one in class too? ;-)

I drink coffee, and plenty of it. But no Kopi Luwak for me, thankyouverymuch.

That is truly disgusting. I did know about this phenomenon, I think, but I didn't know it was palm civets. I would have guessed pigs or something. How vile. I'm so glad I don't drink coffee...

p.s. uselessness, I didn't think you were *really* peevish. Figured you were having a bad day. :)

Here's an interesting bit that's apropos here. There's a type of coffee, Kopi Luwak from Indonesia, that sells for about $160/lb. Why? It's made from coffee cherries that have been eaten by palm civets, which use their sharp sense of smell to select the choicest and ripest beans. They eat the beans, and during digestion, the flesh is removed from the berry, leaving only the bean. These...er, pooped-out beans...are hand collected from the floor of the jungle (not by the civets).

The bad news? I can't find a specific word for the palm civet poo. The good news is that this is Wordie--and we can make up words. I vote crappuccino.

Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to come across peevishly. Sometimes that happens. And I can't get into M-W either, I was just noting that a definition exists there. :-) Congratulations on finding a good definition though, it works for me.

Well, it's a very specific kind of excrement, so I think it counts. Thanks, trivet!

How about coprolite? Or are fossils out?

u, I'm surprised at your peevish tone. You didn't even pick on me for listing frink! chained_bear sad. chained_bear can't talk properly with tongue stuck in cheek.

I can't get into M-W for that word. Mind posting the definition on the word page for me? Nudge nudge wink wink?

First. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I think by now I've broken every single one of my stupid rules. I was actually going to delete that list but there are too many good comments on it.

Second. I don't have a problem with made up words -- I think that's part of the fun of the site.

Third. Apparently, there are real words that have been overlooked by the OED. For example, the suggestion bodewash for this list appears in Merriam-Webster. But not OED. I think it ought to count. But that's just me.

Well, sure, I guess so. But it flies in the face of your unofficial rules, doesn't it? To make up words and insert definitions? I mean, like, people would just make up words then, like frink or something...

I really really hate finding a new cool word on Wordie, and clicking on all the links, and not finding a definition. The OED isn't one of those links, but so far it has included far more of those words (the ones with mostly non-useful links) than any other dictionary, so... I kind of like it. Plus it offers usage notes, which are sometimes priceless.

But wait... you were kidding! ... Weren't you? ... *crickets*

It may be time to dethrone the OED from its place as official English canon. It's preventing too many great words from making this list! :-) A little Googling is all the verification I need, as it proves a word is "in use" by multiple people. Isn't that all it takes for a word to be considered real?

Could not find bodewash, sorry! Added wormcast, though OED gives it a hyphen. Stupid OED... And as for tath, it has several meanings. Cool. Thanks. I think.

Bodewash = cow dung. And don't forget wormcast, which is exactly what it sounds like. And tath, which is cattle droppings.

Don't ask me the difference between cattle and cow dung. Just don't.

Trivet, that's not only amazing--it's rather alarming. ;-)

They almost *have* to be cute, don't you think? To make up for their...disgustingness.

Dangit, those notes never work! Just call me Mr. Short Term Memory. Crap crap crap.

Although I must say, these words are exponentially less intimidating than I thought they would be. Some are even downright cute.

I first came across fewmets and probably mutes when my father read me The Sword in the Stone. King Pellinore had a box of the Questing Beast's fewmets that he would show to anyone he managed to corner. I'm amazed that this information has stuck with me lo these many years.

Oh, crap. You did it. You actually made this list. Look away, uselessness!

OED lists "fiants" as "The dung of certain animals, e.g. the badger, fox, etc." My first thought is to argue that it's not specific enough for the Specific Excrement list. My second thought is, how stupid is that first thought?

u, I wasn't able to find friants, werderobe, or waggying in the OED. I tried some different spellings but wasn't very thorough. Thanks for the suggestions!

Also, I think you forgot your Note to Self ;)

fiants from a badger?

I think I've seen fewmets in Mrs Byrne's dictionary at some point

Interesting (disgusting) list. Might I suggest crotels from a hare; friants from a boar; werderobe from a badger; and waggying from a fox? I got these from a Google search and can't verify their authenticity... but still.

I couldn't find fewmets as an entry in the OED, but I tried "fumet" and it came up feces of deer (rarely singular). Interestingly, in the usage notes, it's nearly always spelled "fewmets."

Mutess (it's listed with two s's) is a verb: to discharge feces, as a hawk. Mutessing, the OED says, is the participle but also the noun.

Thanks for these wildly archaic terms!

fewmets, mutes?