road apple

English

Etymology

Probably with reference to the supposed similarity to rotten apples.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

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

road apple

• Czech: koňská kobliha f
• German: Pferdeapfel (de) m