gong scourer

English

Alternative forms

• gong-scourer

Noun

gong scourer (plural gong scourers)

1. (obsolete) One who dug out and removed human excrement from privies and cesspits.
   • 2011, Mark Leigh, The Loo Companion: Are You Sitting Comfortably?, Michael O'Mara Books:

     As you can imagine, the stench was unbearable and many gong scourers died from suffocation. When tobacco became available, many gong scourers adopted smoking, just to keep away the fumes.

   • 2013, K. M. Snider, Betrayal of an Angel, XLibris, page 209:

     He was shocked and delighted to see the reaction of his friends and the lady they brought with them. “I am Ash, your new gong scourer at your service, my lord.” He bowed at the company before him.

   • 2014, Terry Breverton, chapter 26, in Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tudors but Were Afraid to Ask, Amberley Publishing:

     A gong scourer (also gongfermor or gong farmer) was the man or boy who dug out and removed human faeces from privies and cesspits. Gong is derived from the Old English gang, meaning ‘to go’, and referred to both a privy and its contents.

Synonyms

• gong farmer

See also

• night soil man