motorman's friend

English

Noun

motorman's friend (plural motorman's friends)

1. A device strapped to a person's leg to enable urination without use of a restroom.
   • 1989, Joshua Benjamin Freeman, In Transit, page 14:

     Older trolley drivers also developed urinary problems and some had to resort to “the motorman's friend," a urine collection tube and bottle that was strapped to the leg.

   • 1994, Cecil Adams, Ed Zotti, Return of the Straight Dope: Still More from the Popular Newspaper Column, page 33:

     The system used for urination was a version of the time-honored 'motorman's friend', so called because the hose-and-bag unit was worn by the streetcar motorman, whose job gave him little opportunity for a rest stop.

   • 1999, Lee Edwards, The Conservative Revolution: The Movement that Remade America, page 151:

     In past filibusters, senators had relied upon “the motorman's friend” (a long tube attached to the waist and running down the inside of a pants leg) when they had to empty their bladder but could not leave the floor.

   • 2012, Dan Rather, Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News:

     When necessary I relieved myself in a version of the old “motorman's friend,” proving once again that there is no dignity in television.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see motorman,‎ friend.

See also

• urinal
• urine bottle

References

• Urine collection device on Wikipedia.Wikipedia