Cousin John

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Cousin John

Where it comes from

From John (“outhouse; lavatory; chamber pot; toilet”). Possibly derived from a "euphemistic phrase of excuse" (e.g., "visiting my cousin John" or "going to cousin John's house"), similar to modern use of "powdering one's nose", but this is unattested.

noun cuz john · cuzjohn · Cuz-John

US, obsolete, slang, uncountable A place or device for urination and defecation: an outhouse or chamber pot. 20. No freshman shall mingo against the College wall or go into the fellows' cuzjohn.
Similar: john, jakes

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MLA

"Cousin John." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cousin%20john. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Cousin John. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cousin%20john

Chicago

"Cousin John." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cousin%20john.

BibTeX

@misc{cousin_john_2026,
  title = {Cousin John},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cousin%20john},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}