Saturday, October 10, 2020

word of the day: doss-house

word of the day: doss-house


Another Britishism. Not going to be using it in America, I guess. But it’s pretty easy to get from context.


Probably it had once been the guard-room, when the turret formed part of a legitimate defensive stronghold. Now it looked more like a doss-house. Dirty blankets cumbered a floor otherwise littered with empty tins, despite the summer heat a charcoal-burning brazier threw off fuggy fumes; while upon a horsehair sofa with the stuffing coming out lolled a figure of definitely trampish, non-military aspect.


definition (Merriam-Webster): cheap rooming house or hotel


source:

The Turret

by Margery Sharp

illustrations by Garth Williams

1963. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston

2 comments:

David Lee Ingersoll said...

"fuggy fumes"!

Glenn Ingersoll said...

Good name for a punk band -- or maybe an emo band.