English edit

Etymology edit

Probably with reference to the supposed similarity to rotten apples.

Pronunciation edit

  • (file)

Noun edit

road apple (plural road apples)

  1. (slang, dated, often in the plural) Horse manure, especially when deposited on a road.
    Synonym: street apple
    • 1964, P. S. Martin, F. W. Sharrock, “Pollen Analysis of Prehistoric Human Feces: A New Approach to Ethnobotany”, in American Antiquity, volume 30, number 2, page 171:
      Samples 7–12 contained coarsely chewed plant material; several closely resembled the "road apples" of horse and burro.

Translations edit