Dunny

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This article is about the Australian colloquial word for a toilet, and for the American slang usage of 'dunny' and 'dunn.' For the Age from the fictional Myst franchise, see D'ni.

Dunny is Australian slang for toilet, either the room or the specific fixture, especially an Outhouse, portacabin or other outdoor toilets. It is often used to specify a distinction between a flushing toilet and a non-flushing toilet (e.g., a longdrop). The word is believed to be derived from the much older 'dunnakin' (also spelled 'dunnigin'), but the origin of these terms is much older and remains unknown.

Traditionally, dunnies were found in unsewered areas, and consisted of little more than a seat placed over a can (or "dunny-can") or deep hole (or cesspit). The latter variation can be referred to more specifically as a longdrop. Dunnies were maintained at some distance from houses for obvious reasons of smell and hygiene. The sheds themselves were generally made of either wood or corrugated iron, to facilitate the moving of the dunny if required (for example, if the hole in the longdrop was filled up).

Norman Park, like many areas of Brisbane, was unsewered until the late 1960s, with each house having an outhouse or "dunny" in the back yard

By the middle of the twentieth century, dunnies had become much less common as modern plumbing diminished the need to keep toilets at a distance from the house. Nevertheless even some large cities, such as Brisbane, had unsewered suburbs where residences required dunnies into the early 1970s.

In built up areas it was unhygenic to rely on cesspits and the usual arrangement was for waste to be collected in a can placed under the dunny. The cans would be collected, emptied, washed and replaced weekly by contractors hired by the local city or town council.

In modern times, many dunnies on old houses remain in use, but have been refitted with modern plumbing and flushing toilets. They are also used in areas too remote to justify the expense of pumping water and sewage piping to, but where there is a need for toilet facilities, such as at remote campsites or along walking tracks. Farmers and station owners sometimes also construct dunnies in remote but often used fields.

In the United States, the word dunny has become an obscure relic of 1990's New York City slang and pre-crunk ebonics. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1998) defines a dunny as one who is "deaf, stupid." However, the slang usage means just the opposite, and both it and its shortened form, 'dunn,' are used as terms of endearment. The use of the words 'dunny' and 'dunn' were popularized in New York and beyond by several New York rappers in the 1990's, including the Queens duo Mobb Deep, who in their hit single Quiet Storm use the word 'dunn' on at least one occasion.

other

It is also another way of calling someone a dummy.

Dunny

other

See also