call of nature

Use Call of nature in a sentence

noun Informal.

a need to urinate or defecate.

Origin:
1850–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To call of nature

Slang Dictionary

nature's call definition

and call of nature

n.
the feeling of a need to go to the toilet. : I think I feel nature's call coming on.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Relevant Questions

What Is Natures Recycler...

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Call of nature is always a great word to know.

So is slumgullion. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

call of nature

Need to urinate or defecate, as in He left to answer the call of nature. This euphemism may be dying out. [Mid-1800s]

Example sentences

He dropped his trousers, sat down and began answering the call of nature.

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Matching Quote

"There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge available to us: observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination. Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common."

-Denis Diderot

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