1. A warning cry formerly used in Edinburgh and other Scottish cities to alert people below that waste water or sewage was about to be thrown from an upper window into the street.
Usage: archaic; Scottish; historical

1. The act of throwing waste water or sewage from an upper window; also, the waste material itself.
Usage: archaic; Scottish; historical

Examples

• Before modern plumbing, residents would shout 'gardyloo!' before emptying chamber pots into the street.
• The warning cry 'gardyloo!' echoed through the narrow closes of old Edinburgh.
• Pedestrians in 18th-century Scottish cities had to listen carefully for the cry of gardyloo to avoid being splashed.
• The practice of gardyloo was common in densely populated urban areas before sewage systems were installed.
• Historical accounts describe the dangers of walking through streets where gardyloo was still practiced.