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bumwad
DCHP-2 (Nov 2012)
Spelling variants:bum wad
n. — slang, rare
toilet paper.
Type: 2. Preservation — The Historical Dictionary of American Slang has a citation for bumwad from 1896 with the meaning toilet paper. However, American sources more commonly use the term to mean newspapers and other publications supposedly fit only for such use. The word is first found in Canada in the 1970s with the sense ‘toilet paper’ (see the 1976 quotation). The meaning in Canada seems to be a preservation of an older meaning used in the US and probably the UK as well. Chart 1 shows a considerable frequency in the UK with Canada in second place, but no longer many US hits.
See also COD-2, s.v. "bumwad", which is marked "Cdn slang", and DARE, s.v. "bumwad", HDAS, s.v. "bumwad".
See also COD-2, s.v. "bumwad", which is marked "Cdn slang", and DARE, s.v. "bumwad", HDAS, s.v. "bumwad".
Quotations
1976
As I strolled to work across campus this Monday morning, I noticed thousands of feet of toilet paper strewn in many places: up trees, around statues, etc.
[...]
Whoever did it, however, must either be or have the largest collective group of assholes on campus in order to have that much bum wad to spread around so freely.
1992
Welcome, new Canadians! May you always have a roof over your head, bread on your table, and a spare roll of bumwad in the can.
2006
Are we not rich enough that we can stop clear-cutting our boreal forests for chopsticks and bumwad?
2007
The problem is, Canadian taxpayers are once again getting wiped with a pile of their own money. For all the education and health care that could have been bought for $36 million, taxpayers get not a single roll of bumwad out of this dandy deal.
References
- HDAS
- COD-2
- DARE
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