thunderbox
A chamber pot enclosed in a boxA chamber pot enclosed in a box; a portable commode.
Meaning
4 senses(slang)A chamber pot enclosed in a box; a portable commode.
(Australia, UK, broadly, slang)Any lavatory or toilet, especially a rudimentary outdoor latrine or toilet, or an outhouse.
A box of metal balls which is shaken to create a thunder sound effect.
(obsolete)A blunderbuss; also, a cannon.
Origin
From thunder + box. Senses 1 and 2 (“portable commode; any lavatory or toilet”) are probabFrom thunder + box. Senses 1 and 2 (“portable commode; any lavatory or toilet”) are probably because of the noises that may be made while defecating.
Probably a calque of German Donnerbüchse (“(archaic) blunderbuss; cannon”) (from Donner (“thunder”) + Büchse (“box; can; rifle”)), or its etymon Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”) (from donder (“thunder”) + bus (“box; container; (chiefly historical) type of early modern firearm”)).
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