tar water

English

Noun

tar water (countable and uncountable, plural tar waters)

  1. (historical) A cold infusion of tar in water, once used as a medicine for chest complaints.
    • 1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter II, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 22:
      Some medical beast had revived Tar-water in those days as a fine medicine, and Mrs. Joe always kept a supply of it in the cupboard; having a belief in its virtues correspondent to its nastiness.

Alternative forms

  • tar-water

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