Po

noun PUO poː

Also spelled po, poe, chamber pot

A chamber pot — the enamel or ceramic pot kept under the bed and used to relieve oneself at night, in the days before the flush toilet, when the toilet was an outside pit and no one wanted to go out in the dark. The 'po' (close kin to the 'chimmy') was emptied and washed each morning, an unremarkable part of old household life that still lingers in older people's talk and in stories of country childhood.

  • Long time, di po did keep unda di bed.

    Long ago, the chamber pot was kept under the bed.

  • Empty di po inna di mawnin.

    Empty the chamber pot in the morning.

  • Nobody waan go a pit toilet inna di night, so dem use di po.

    Nobody wants to go to the pit toilet at night, so they use the chamber pot.

From English 'po' (chamber pot, via French 'pot'); the under-bed chamber pot. See [[chimmy]], [[pit-toilet]].

An under-bed chamber pot, kin to the 'chimmy'. See [[chimmy]], [[pit-toilet]].